Another battle is being fought on the sidelines of the all-out political war in Perak, this time for mileage from economic development of the state.

During its 10-month administration, Pakatan Rakyat had claimed that its new style of governance has attracted more local and foreign investors compared to 50 years of rule by the Barisan Nasional (BN).

tajol rosli ghazali dr zambry abd kadir perak new cm bn 050209 However, former menteri besar Mohd Tajol Rosli Ghazali (left) and current appointee Zambri Abdul Kadir (right) have said most of the investments were a continuation of economic growth while BN was in charge of the state.

The latest tussle between the two political coalitions has been sparked by argument as to who clinched the Firefly deal to operate flights from Ipoh to Singapore.

FlyFirefly Sdn Bhd, launched in April 2007, is a wholly owned subsidiary of national carrier Malaysian Airline System. Its first flight from Ipoh to Singapore is scheduled for July 12, followed by four services a week.

firefly airline Managing director Eddy Leong, when asked which coalition can claim credit, was diplomatic in his response.

“We are basically apolitical business people who can work with any state government whether it is Pakatan or Barisan as long as there is political stability and smooth functioning the state government,” he said, alluding to an immediate need.

“It is easy to take passengers to Singapore but the same cannot be said of (bringing) tourists from Singapore. The infrastructure for the transport network from the Ipoh airport has to be enhanced to ensure smooth tourist flow.”

He said the talks started in 2007 when BN was in power, but that the change of state government in March last year had initially stalled the deal.

Discussions continued during the Pakatan administration, but the collapse of the state government in February led to another stalemate before the deal went through.