BN has asked Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng how his administration could finance its huge increase in its operational expenses, and whether this is from the sale of public land.

BN's 'strategic communications team' claimed Penang's expenditure was 500 percent higher in 2017 than in 2008, when DAP first took over the state government.

In contrast, the federal government's spending had increased 35.3 percent over the same period, said the group in a statement.

“Lim had neglected to answer how the Penang government managed to get the revenue to cover this 500 percent increase in yearly spending and still register surpluses?

“Is it from federal government funding, from taxing Penang people five times more via increases in assessment rates, fines or increasing water rates four times?

“Or is it from increasing sales of state land and assets?” they asked.

They were responding to Lim telling Free Malaysia Today (FMT) on Thursday that the increase in administrative expenditure was necessary to ensure projects were well delivered

The chief minister added despite the increase, the state's finances are still in the black and the state has recorded surpluses.

“You know the 2015 auditor-general’s report, it states that only 55 percent of our allocations were spent. But if you see the number of projects that were completed, it stood at 99.75 percent.

“How is it possible to complete projects at 99.75 percent when we have only spent 55 percent? It is because 99 percent of our projects are given through open tenders. Through open tenders, we save money.

“I feel BN must ask themselves. Penang records surpluses yearly, while Putrajaya is on a loss for 20 years straight. We never had a year with losses at all,” FMT reported Lim as saying.

'Why borrow from China?'

The BN team asked if Penang intends to get revenue from selling land, then why couldn't they “sell one more piece of land valued at RM1 billion or above to avoid borrowing from Export-Import Bank of China (Exim) and incurring interest costs?”

“Is this because there are now no more valuable state land or assets remaining to sell anymore as what Penang exco Chow Kon Yeow had said?” they asked.

Apart from criticising Penang's sale of state land, the BN group has also attacked the state administration for plans to borrow money from the China bank its Penang transport masterplan (PTMP).

The Putrajaya-based BN group also asked Lim to confirm a report in The Edge on July 22, 2016 that the cost of the PTMP project has increased RM19 billion from RM27 billion to RM46 billion.

“If it is accurate then how would the Penang government fund this RM19 billion increase? Will this be from loans from Exim bank or from other banks?”