Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and state opposition leader Jahara Hamid are on a verbal warpath over the huge hike in Budget 2017 allocation to the chief minister and state secretariat offices (P01).

Denying her claims as baseless allegations, Lim (DAP-Air Putih) described Jahara (BN-Teluk Ayer Tawar) as a "liar" for making a false claim that the budget was a "manipulation" of figures.

"How can you say it is a manipulation of figures when our finances have been verified by the auditor-general?" Lim asked at a press conference today at the State Legislative Assembly.

"We are one of the earliest states to present our financial statements compared to other states," claimed the DAP secretary-general.