‘Better uses for RM707mil’

Allocation could go towards flood mitigation, says Penang MCA

GEORGE TOWN: The RM707mil allocated to the Chief Minister’s Office and State Secretariat should instead be used to fix the state’s recurring flood woes and waning manufacturing sector, said the Penang MCA secretary.

Dr Tan Chuan Hong criticised the state government for not having a sense of urgency in flood mitigation and for apparently misallocating the funds, which were 4.4 times more than last year’s allocation.

Besides that, the Chief Minister’s Office was heavily staffed, compared to when former chief minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon was there, he pointed out.

“Dr Koh had 15 staff members. Why are there more than 40 now?

“Taxpayers are bearing the cost of their salaries, whether or not the staff are permanent or on contract,” Dr Tan said yesterday.

He also said the state’s projected deficit of RM667mil was a 2.3-fold increase from last year’s RM292.13mil.

Also, its expenditure had gone up five times, from RM280mil during Barisan Nasional’s administration to the current RM1.35bil, he said.

State Gerakan vice-chairman Oh Tong Keong said the extra RM500mil in the allocation could have been used to build 10,000 units of low-cost houses at RM50,000 each.

Or 7,000 units of medium-cost houses at RM72,500 each, he said.

Also, he asked why the state government allocated RM600mil for Penang Development Corporation (PDC) when the corporation had made a profit from sales of land.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, at a press conference during a break in the state assembly, said the increase in the allocation was due to a loan of RM609mil to PDC.

He said the increase from RM161mil in Budget 2016 to RM707mil in Budget 2017 was to develop Seberang Prai into a catalyst for the state’s economy.

“That is why PDC has a lot of projects there and that’s the reason for the land acquisitions.

“Is it balanced development? It is. Most of the money will go towards the development of Seberang Prai,” Lim said.

At a following press conference, state Opposition leader Datuk Jahara Hamid (BN - Teluk Air Tawar) asked PDC to list out the areas earmarked for land acquisition involving the loan from the state.

She also said that since it was a loan, the debt would need to be paid.

“If they used profits from the development, there would have been no need for a loan,” she said.