Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng says the state is not interested in meeting with subordinate officers from the Kedah government to discuss the controversial water payment issues.

Lim said it is pointless to meet with the officers of Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir that Kedah plans to send to meet with their counterparts in Penang to discuss the matter.

dap special meeting 110313 lim guan eng He wants to meet directly with Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir on the state's intention to seek raw water payment from Penang, a proposal that Lim has strongly rejected.

"Let's meet at the highest level. There is no need for third parties," Lim told a press conference today, lamenting that Mukhriz never even bothered to write to him on the matter.

He reiterated that he was willing to meet Mukhriz and treat him to Penang's speciality, the nasi kandar, if the Kedah leader comes to Penang, adding, "and he can choose where to eat the nasi kandar".

He was responding to report in the The Star today that Kedah state secretary Mohd Puat Mohd Ali and legal adviser Anas Ahmad Zakie have been instructed to meet their Penang counterparts to discuss the matter.

"This is a process before the actual negotiations," Mukhriz had told reporters after meeting with the Kedah local government council members yesterday.

Lim has rejected Kedah's proposal to charge Penang for raw water drawn from the Muda River, saying that the water was drawn from the Penang side of the river.