GEORGE TOWN, Oct 28 — Lim Guan Eng complained today that Penang was again being sidelined by the federal administration, noting that nothing in Budget 2016 was allocated to the northern state.

The Penang chief minister noted that in the budget tabled last week by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, there were no announcements of projects or any development for Penang.

“The Penang state executive council wants to remind the federal government that Penang is also a part of Malaysia and the state contributed RM3.6 billion in taxes last year,” he said.

He accused Putrajaya of being unfair and cruel to Penang for denying the state developments and projects, such as the expansion of the Penang International Airport, public transportation projects. infrastructure works and the promised Light Rail Transit (LRT).

“We deeply regret that Penang was again left out and we are disappointed that the budget does not include any development projects for the state,” he said.

He reminded Najib he had promised to build a LRT system in Penang thrice and the project is still yet to materialise.

“This shows that all these are just empty promises,” he said, adding that Penang was also left out in the budget for 2015.

Najib tabled the budget last Friday while highlighting the federal government’s plans to reduce its budget deficit and address rising cost of living.

Among allocations announced in the budget were RM41.3 billion for education, RM30.1 billion for development projects, RM5.2 billion for security and RM13.1 billion for social development.