Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has rubbished allegations that the recently-announced 10th Malaysian Plan (10MP) has no allocations for Penang. 

NONE Muhyiddin ( left ) said the Opposition was trying to politicise the matter while spinning stories to show that the BN-led federal government was cruel to sideline Penangites from benefitting from the 10MP.

He told reporters to go back and ask Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng what has the federal government held back from Penangites.

“They are trying to show that the federal government has aniaya (persecuted) Penangites and that they are out of the radar of development,” he said.

“In the past, it was the BN who brought development to Penang, not Lim Guan Eng,” he added.

“I do not think Penangites would be fooled by these allegations,” he stressed.

Muhyiddin said all states were invited to apply for grants and there were allocations for every sector.

‘Pakatan states not sidelined’

The federal government would continue to spend for the social services sector, like hospitals, added Muhyiddin, who is also education minister.

“It would be really stupid and cruel for the government not to give allocations to Opposition states just because they support Pakatan Rakyat. We are not a cruel government,” he said.

“I have heard the same allegations from Kelantan and now Penang. They are not correct,” added Muhyiddin.

NONE The deputy PM addressed a press conference today after officiating the International St George’s Conference 2010 at Universiti Sains Malaysia.

“It seems the Opposition is spinning stories and this is a sure twisting of real facts,” he stressed.

Muhyiddin was responding to media questions whether there were programmes for Penang, under the 10MP revealed by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak last Thursday.

Muhyiddin said the 10MP was debated in Parliament recently and it is impossible for Penang to be dropped from the plan.

‘No one left out’

“We have allocations for all ministries and all sectors, how can Penang be excluded?” he said.

“For example, Penang is important for tourism, as a sector. Do you think we will abandon it? Of course not,” he added, saying he could lecture for an hour and still not cover all aspects of how Penang can benefit from the plan.

“Social justice is not only for those who support BN because we will give everyone a chance,” he said.

NONE Muhyiddin added that the BN enjoyed a lot of support from Penangites, but the coalition was unable to defend their seats in the 2008 general election.

The 10MP has so far received its fair share of detractors .

Socio-Economic and Environmental Research Institute (Seri) executive director Liew Chin Tong ( right ) condemned the national plan for just being a mere policy plan with no details in it.

DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang on his Twitter called it “old wine in new bottles” while de-facto Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim wrote it off as mere rhetoric .