The Penang government has denied claims by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang that it had failed to protect interests of Malays and Muslims in the state.

In a statement, state religious exco member Abdul Malik Kassim cited various policies implemented under the Pakatan Harapan rule and said it would be impossible for Hadi to miss its achievements compared to the previous BN administration.

"The fact is that Islam will continue to prosper in Penang under Pakatan Harapan administration, led by DAP and PKR.

"The Malays and Islam will continue to be defended in Penang," stressed the Batu Maung assemblyperson.

Malik said this in response to Hadi who yesterday reportedly said that PAS had closed its doors to DAP as the latter had supposedly failed to take care of the interests of Malay and Muslims in Penang.

Commenting further, Malik highlighted the on-going plans to build Penang's first 14-storey Islamic Hospital, slated to begin constructions in March and expected to be completed within three years.

He also said that Islam in Penang had developed more since 2008, after the then Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact had taken over from BN, and now replaced by Pakatan Harapan.

"The budget for religious affairs, for example, had at one point reached 300 percent more than the allocation during times when Penang was under the administration of Gerakan, an Umno ally.

"At the time Gerakan leaders had openly condemned the state's administration, particularly the DAP, for allocating a much larger sum for religious affairs," he said in stressing that the allocation have always been enough to meet current needs.

As the exco member in charge, Malik said various levels of religious schools have continued to receive assistance based on the state's financial capability.

Aside from the annual allocation for religious affairs, he said there is also a special allocation for the Islamic education institutions.

"As of now, more than RM14 million have been allocated for the purpose. In fact, all teachers and staff of the institutions this year also received a special bonus."

These allocations were on top of an increase in the number of new mosques, surau and religious schools funded by the state-government, he added.

Malik, meanwhile, pointed out that the Penang government had not only introduced various state-level Islamic programmes, but also lifted restrictions on speakers to deliver their sermons at local mosques.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, he said, had since 2008 also embarked on a plan to eradicate poverty in the state, with all families earning an income of less than RM750 have been identified to receive a monthly assistance.

Malik reiterated that the idea was based on Lim's studies of Khalifah Umar Al-Khattab, a revered leader during the times of Prophet Muhammad SAW.