GEORGE TOWN, March 16 — The federal government should reward states with development projects and extra allocation for good debt management, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today.
The DAP leader said the Pakatan Harapan-run Penang had proven its economic abilities after successfully slicing off nearly 90 per cent of its federal debt pile, from almost RM700 million to only RM69.3 million.
“If they do not reward states that reduce their debts, then why should we be paying back our debts? Better we don’t pay back, if that seems to be the impression, better we retain our money here,” Lim told a news conference at his office here.
“Due to our performance in reducing our debts, I feel the state should be getting incentives in the form of allocations for development projects,” he added.
He pointed out that Penang has the least amount of debt owed to the federal government out of 13 states.
A parliamentary reply to DAP-Seputeh MP Teresa Kok stated that the total debt of all states to Putrajaya amounted to RM16.8 billion.
“Out of that figure, Penang owed the least, only 0.4 per cent,” Lim said.
Pahang tops the list with a debt of RM2.9 billion to be followed by Sabah (RM2.6 billion), Sarawak (RM2.5 billion), Kedah (RM2.2 billion), Kelantan (RM1.3 billion) and Selangor (RM1 billion).
