Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng continues to be sore with the BN-led federal government for allegedly overlooking the state as one of the “growth catalyst cities” in the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP).

Lim said Penang pays the most taxes to Putrajaya after the Federal Territory (Wilayah Persekutuan) and Johor, yet it has been “marginalised” in the latest development blueprint.

Last year, Penang paid RM6.3 billion in total taxes - direct and indirect taxes - to Putrajaya, after Federal Territory (RM109.6 billion) and Johor (RM8.5 billion).

“How much do we get back? We have not been included in the list of competitive cities in the 11th Malaysia Plan,” Lim lamented at a press conference.

Lim, the chairperson for Perbadanan Bekalan Air Pulau Pinang, said this after attending the 12th annual general meeting of PBA Holdings Bhd today.

He said Penang ( photo ), despite being the major secondary city in the northern region, has been left out of the country’s development plans.

“What does this show? It shows we are being punished and marginalised for being a Pakatan Rakyat (opposition) state, because we are not part of the BN government.

“For that, we are being treated like a stepchild,” quipped the Bagan parliamentarian.

Cities chosen for growth 'potential'

Lim was referring to the Finance Ministry’s written reply to DAP’s Batu Gajah MP Sivakumar Varatharaju Naidu on the amount of taxes each state submits to the federal government last year.

In the written reply, the Finance Ministry said that direct and indirect taxes collected by the Inland Revenue Board in each state may not reflect the real economic situation in the respective states.

The Ministry cited an example where a company which operates in Johor may have its tax processed at the branch in Kuala Lumpur if the company was registered in the capital.

Last week when Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak unveiled the 11MP, Lim had decried that Penang was “ abandoned ” in the development plan.

He criticised the 11MP as being “imbalanced”, “not very dynamic”, and “lacks innovation”, and alleged Penang was not given any allocation whatsoeve

To be dynamic and innovative, the plan must do away with the traditional method of crony capitalism, Lim had said.

During his speech in parliament, Najib had said Malaysia will develop four major cities, namely Kuala Lumpur, Johor Baru ( photo ), Kuching, and Kota Kinabalu, as growth catalyst cities .

This approach is to maximise benefits for the residents and to stimulate national development under 11MP, Najib had said.

He added the cities were selected based on their potential in terms of population size, Gross Domestic Product (GDP), existing major infrastructure, concentration of higher learning institutions, and geographical advantage.