KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 17 — The Pakatan Harapan (PH) Penang state government sold 36 times less land than the previous BN administration, former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.

Despite selling less land at 106 acres, compared to BN’s 3,661 acres, the state government was able to generate higher revenue as the land sales were conducted on an open tender basis.

"There is a note of quiet desperation in Najib’s statements when he no longer relies on facts and figures but has started making personal attacks against me,” said Lim in a statement.

Lim was disputing former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s claims that Lim had turned around Penang’s finances by selling state-owned land.

He further added that Najib cannot deny the cost escalation of mega projects such as the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to RM81 billion, the financial scandals in Felda or the unnecessary expense of approving a contract to install bullet-proof glass in the Finance Ministry for more than RM6 million.

He also criticised alleged financial mismanagement during Najib’s administration that witnessed the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal that which caused losses of around RM50 billion.

Lim claimed extravagant spending during Najib’s era had caused the federal debt to balloon to more that RM1 trillion.

Lim also said that during his tenure as Penang chief minister, a higher percentage of reclaimed land was returned to the state government compared to the BN government.