Perak Pakatan Rakyat has criticised its Barisan Nasional counterparts of taking undue credit in attracting investments into the state and also disputed the total value of investments made over the past year.

At a press conference today, DAP state chief Ngeh Khoo Ham claimed that many projects announced by the BN recently were initiated during the 10-month Pakatan rule, before they were ousted in February last year.

NONE This includes a solar-power project, a biotechnology project for pharmaceutical products, underground water extraction project, seaweed farm and a massive iron ore project involving a South American company valued at RM8 billion.

According to a report yesterday, state cabinet member Hamidah Osman said the BN state government had attracted RM11.6 billion in investments since taking over.

This amount, she claimed, was five times more than the RM2.5 billion in investments attracted by Pakatan during their tenure.

Ngeh ( above, right) , who once held the state finance portfolio, also criticised Hamidah for announcing investment figures although a number of projects were only in the planning stages.

"When we ruled the state, we first signed and closed the deal before making a public announcement. This is the correct procedure," he said.

"(Hamidah's announcement) is a desperate political move to hoodwink the people into thinking that BN is better than Pakatan in attracting investments," he added.

Pakatan expects snap polls

Ngeh was speaking during a press conference in conjunction with the first anniversary of the BN's putsch at the home of ousted Menteri Besar Mohd Nizar Jamaluddin at Kampung Sg Rokam, south of Ipoh.

When told that a state Election Commission official had an audience with the Perak Sultan recently, Nizar surmised that it was a sign that snap elections would be called soon.

On Pakatan's chances, Nizar described it as "50-50", noting there is currently a sudden influx of 40,000 new voters compared to the electoral roll used in the 2008 General Election.

NONE He claims that there are rumours of police and army personnel collecting civilian identity cards or MyKads, despite already possessing identity cards for uniformed personnel.

"This is causing uneasiness. We fear that such an exercise might be misused by BN," said Nizar ( right ).

As part of Pakatan's preparation for state polls, coalition leaders will be embarking on a roadtrip on two busses from Ipoh - one headed north and the other south - to meet grassroots.

"We are severely handicapped as we do not have access to the mainstream media to reach to the people especially those in the rural areas. It is an uphill fight for us against the powerful propaganda machinery of BN," he said.

Nizar declined to comment when asked if he would be retained as Menteri Besar should Pakatan win the state elections, but he received immediate endorsements from DAP and PKR leaders present at the press conference.