We are not seeking charity, PAS tells Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR: It is the federal government's responsibility to provide federal aid to states that are seeking monetary assistance, said Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang.
The PAS president said this should be the concept of federalism in Malaysia, of which Kelantan is a part of, and should, therefore, be allowed to ask for funds for the purpose of running the state.
"Kelantan pays taxes too, and these taxes are collected by the Customs Department which is later given to the federal government. Kelantan also has natural resources that are taken by the federal government.
"So, it is the federal government's obligation to repay the states. That's their responsibility. We are not asking for charity," he told reporters at the Parliament lobby, here, today.
Abdul Hadi was commenting on the documents of evidence provided by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng earlier that Kelantan had indeed sought advanced payments to pay the salaries of their civil servants.
Previously, several Kelantan PAS leaders had also denied Lim's claim that the state had asked for loans as they were not able to pay the wages of their staff.
On Lim's request for Kelantan to explain why it was constantly seeking additional funds and was the state with the largest debt, Abdul Hadi argued that all states in the country have debts.
He, however, pointed out that the state has been consistently paying these debts over the past 28 years since PAS won there.
"I believe Penang won't be able to do like Kelantan given similar circumstances," he said, in taking a dig at Lim, who was the former Penang Chief Minister.