The Penang government welcomed assurances they have not been left out of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP), but wanted hard facts and data on what exactly was in store for the state.

Bernama reported yesterday that the Performance Management and Delivery Unit of the Prime Minister's Department (Pemandu) said that Penang has not been left out of the ETP.

dap penang manifesto launch 250208 wide "The Penang state government is willing to meet and be briefed by Pemandu on the 95 entry points projects (EPPs) to co-ordinate and co-operate on its successful implementation in Penang over the next 10 years within 11 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs)," said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng ( right ) in a statement released today.

"So far the state government had not received any details of where the 95 EPPs supposed to be located in Penang and what type of EPPs are they. Apart from the Tourism and the Electrical & Electronic NKEAs revealed by Pemandu, what are the other NKEAs identified?"

He said neither has Pemandu revealed the amount of investments, the increase in per capita Gross National Income nor the number of jobs expected to be created.

In contrast, when 19 EPPs was unveiled last month, Pemandu disclosed that a total of RM67 billion in investments would generate a per capita GNI of RM35 billion and generate 35,000 jobs.

"It is wrong for Pemandu to reject the proportional approach to determine the amount of investment that a state is entitled to.

"If the ETP is an initiative that will transform Malaysia into a high-income nation by 2020, then there must be at least one EPP in each of the 13 states in Malaysia, excluding Federal Territory. Not a single one out of the 19 EPPs announced last month was located in Penang.

"How can the ETP be inclusive and share the wealth of the country with all segments of the population, whether urban or rural, regardless of gender and in all regions, if Penang is left out?"

azlan Guan Eng also asked how could the 95 EPPs promised for Penang over the next 10 years be successfully implemented and completed without the cooperation of the state government.

"The Penang state government should be fully informed and not kept in the dark. To only know through the media that there are 95 EPPs over the next 10 years after being compelled to highlight publicly the perceived neglect of Penang is distressing and does not lend confidence to its professional execution. "

The Penang CM said execution was key and required full disclosure which not only promotes transparency but also engagement with all stakeholders.

"The Penang people has a right to know the full details of the EPPs promised, and not see it as being wrapped up in mysterious dark secrets."

'Reject extremist and racial slants'

Guan Eng also said that people must reject the extremist and racial slant which labels non-Muslims as sinful, specifically in BN-controlled media, as these are falsehoods that portray Christian traditions and Valentine's Day as being synonymous with sin.

Especially since at the same time, he said, no mention was made of BN leaders who labeled a PAS female candidate an extremist for not shaking hands with males, nor other BN leaders who labelled Islamic nations as backward, corrupt and undemocratic.

"This is clearly part of BN's political games and their two-faced tactics to create hate amongst the races and religions."

He labelled the BN 'political games' as a sleight of hand move aimed at disuniting the rakyat and pitting religions against one another so that BN can continue to rule and their corruption and scandals remained hidden and rampant.