Pakatan Rakyat-controlled Penang is seeing red over the federal government's policy to channel RM20 million to state asset manager Khazanah Nasional Bhd to maintain heritage sites.

phee boon poh denied resign 221103 lim guan eng Speaking at the state legislative assembly sitting today, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng chided Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak for not keeping his promise in channeling the money to the state government.

He said the federal government had acted 'unreasonably and irrationally' by channeling the fund to Khazanah.

During the Dewan Rakyat sitting yesterday, Najib had revealed that the government had allocated RM50 million for maintaining heritage sites in George Town and Malacca under the 2009 Budget.

Of this, RM20 million is for Penang while Malacca gets RM30 million. Both states have been listed in a joint dossier as heritage sites under the Unesco World Heritage listing.

Najib, who is also finance minister, said the money for Penang would be directed to Khazanah, and not to the state government, while Malacca will get the funds through the Heritage Funds Group under the Information, Communication and Culture Ministry.

Disproportionate distribution

Lim also complained that Najib's government had distributed the funds unfairly and disproportionately compared with the acreage of heritage zones in both sites.

He said George Town’s heritage areas covered a total 259.42ha, comprising 109.38 ha core zone and 150.04ha buffer zone, while Malacca needed to maintain 172.65 ha only, comprising 38.62 ha core zone and 134.03ha buffer zone.

Moreover, he said George Town had 4,665 heritage buildings, double of Malacca's 1,878 buildings.

"Is this all about 1Malaysia concept? Isn't this double-standards or triple injustice?" he asked in his winding-up speech during the Budget 2010 debate during the last day of the current sitting.

He said the heritage site accolade was for the people of Penang and Malaysia.

Lim also slammed several non-government organisations and heritage critics, including the Penang Heritage Trust, for not backing the state government in its quest to secure the heritage fund.

Due to this federal double-standard, he said no one should complain if the state government brought the matter to Unesco's attention.

BN reps absent from sitting

Meanwhile, the state assembly meeting was less lively with the absence of all 11 Barisan Nasional opposition assemblypersons.

The BN representatives staged a walkout yesterday and boycotted today's sitting to protest the ejection and suspension of Opposition Leader Azhar Ibrahim (Umno-Penaga) over an alleged 'butt-showing' incident.

Following Lim's wind-up, Pakatan representatives unanimously passed the Budget 2010 without much hiccups.

They also unanimously passed two resolutions on voters' registration and the death of Teoh Beng Hock, where they called for a royal commission to be set up.

Earlier, Speaker Abdul Halim Hussain rejected a motion tabled by Ong Chin Wen (PKR-Bukit Tengah) to pressure the federal government to dissolve the National Civics Bureau (BTN) course and review the courses at the National Institute of Public Administration (Intan).

The speaker said that although the matter involved public interest, it was not urgent because the cabinet had promised to revamp the curriculum for the course.

Oh accused of hijacking heritage allocation