Kelantan regent hopes PH will continue projects okayed by BN

KOTA BARU: Regent of Kelantan Dr Tengku Muhammad Fa-iz Petra Sultan Ismail Petra said he hopes the new government under Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad will bring change for the people and the country.

This, he said, would be in line with the people’s wish to see Malaysia achieve developed nation status by 2020.

Stating that he was happy that the Federal Government had agreed to pay oil royalties to Kelantan, Tengku Fa-iz Petra said he hoped projects involving the state, approved by the previous government, would be continued.

This, he said, would lead to a better relationship between the federal and state governments.

“Among these projects are the upgrading of the Sultan Ismail Petra Airport, Central Spine Road, East Coast Rail Line, the third phase of the East Coast Highway and the proposal to build the Kampung Cina-Palekbang Bridge,” he said at the royal address at the opening of the state legislative assembly.

Tengku Fa-iz Petra, who is also head of the Kelantan Islamic Religious and Malay Customs Council, said the council had carried out 89 basic infrastructure projects and developed human capital throughout 2016 and last year.

“I believe the state government is committed to improving the quality of those living in rural areas, especially the Orang Asli. I support efforts to diversify sources of income for rural folk by pioneering new, high-yield subsectors,” he said.

He said based on the first quarter economic performance report released by the Statistics Department, Malaysia achieved an encouraging growth of 5.4 per cent, though less than the 5.9 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter of last year.

“In the same period, the gross domestic product was recorded at RM295.3 billion at constant prices and RM343.2 at current prices. Based on the growth momentum of 4.8 per cent in 2016, Kelantan is expected to have a positive growth trend in 2018.”