The Penang opposition has slated the newly-tabled state budget for 2018 as being a “populist and senseless" election budget, primarily over the proposed 2017 year-end bonus for the 8,000 civil servants in the state.

“This is clearly a populist budget of the Penang government in light of the coming 14th national polls.

“How are they supposed to pay it this year, when Lim clearly mentioned that his so-called ‘budget for the people’ is allocated for 2018?” asked state opposition leader Jahara Hamid.

“It has never happened before. They should be more transparent, and not use funds which they never tabled in Budget 2017. They are just playing around with the figures.

“They are not really a clean government,” she said when contacted...