Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today brushed aside Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's promise to build a monorail system for Penang should the state return to BN's fold, pointing out this was the same unfulfilled promise by the previous administration.

Lim said when Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, or more popularly known as Pak Lah was premier, he had also promised Penangites a monorail system which did not materialise.

"This is the second prime minister to make such promise... I do not know how many prime ministers will need to make this promise before Penang can get a monorail.

"It was promised by BN but never built, this is a case of of promises not fulfilled," he said in reference to BN's "promise fulfilled" slogan at a press conference after the opening of the joint DAP Wanita and Youth congress in Kuala Lumpur today.

dapsy agm 091212 lim guan eng He added that since the monorail was promised by the federal government long ago, it should be fulfilled without having to now become a carrot stick in the next general election.

"Why make a condition (only if BN wins)? BN promised it under the previous administration, so why is the prime minister now saying it will only be done if BN wins?" said Guan Eng ( left ).

He added that it was unlikely that Penangites would buy into that promise after a string of broken ones.

"Do you think people will trust the promise? When Pak Lah who is a Penangite made the promise, he did not fulfill it; Now Najib who is not even a Penangite is making the same promise. What people want is just the promise to be fulfilled," he said.

Lim was responding to Najib's visit to Penang yesterday where he promised to build 20,000 affordable housing units and a monorail system if BN wins the state in the next general election.

Future secretary-general?

Also present at the press conference was outgoing DAP Youth chief Anthony Loke.

Asked if he will be groomed as future party secretary-general with his departure from Dapsy, Loke dismissed it as premature media speculation.

"It's just media speculation. No one in the party or (current DAP secretary-general) Lim Guan Eng has said anything about this (to me)," he said.

dapsy agm 091212 anthony loke 02 Lim is expected to retain the secretary-general position unopposed at the central body's election next week but it will be his final three-year term as the party has a cap of three terms.

Elaborating on this, Loke ( right ) said for now, he has to focus on vying for one the 20 central executive committee seats which will see 66 contenders at the party election next week.

Asked if he would accept the secretary-general position if nominated in future, he replied: "We'll see the conditions then. It is too far down the road".