A senior PAS leader today told Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to not forget how he had cried as then Penang chief minister when asking for help from the previous BN federal government.

Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah said this was unlike PAS which he said had never “cried” for help.

“Pulau Pinang (Lim) cried when he called (former deputy prime minister) Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (for help). We (Kelantan) never cried when asking for help from the federal government.

“He (Lim) cried and that is something he must remember,” said Mohd Amar alluding to Lim’s reported phone call to Zahid last November asking for the army’s help after Penang was hit by severe floods.

Mohd Amar issued the reminder in response to Lim’s remarks in Parliament yesterday which triggered an outcry from Kelantan lawmakers.

Lim had expressed doubt over a suggestion that the east coast states could come up with their own funds to revive the suspended East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project and had said his doubt was because Kelantan had required federal help to pay the salaries of its civil servants.

“The most basic principle is the principle of federalism.

“All states in Malaysia depend on federal funds and there is no state that can stand on its own. Even Selangor, a rich state, still has loans from the federal government,” said Mohd Amar (photo).

The Panchor assemblyperson further claimed that Lim had sinister intentions in making the claim, and a prejudice against states ruled by PAS.

Oil royalty issue

“We see Lim Guan Eng as being anti-Kelantan and Terengganu because these states are led by PAS. There is something that he is not happy with us (about).

“Maybe he is anti-Islam or anti-Malay, we don’t know. All this is not supposed to happen because all records are with the National Finance Counci.

“But when he singled out Kelantan, this shows he has sinister intentions,” Mod Amar told reporters at his office in Kota Baru today.

Commenting further, he said that while he admitted that the federal government had given financial assistance to Kelantan, the government should also remember that it retained a share of the state’s funds in the form of unpaid petroleum royalty.

“The royalty amount is no less than RM700 million a year,” he said in reference to the state’s demand for a five percent royalty based on its estimated annual revenue from petroleum.

“So if the federal government can pay the royalty based on the agreement, then there will be no more issue of the state government requiring federal assistance,” he argued.

Lim yesterday had also roped in former premier Najib Abdul Razak to defend his remark in the Dewan Rakyat as the latter had also made a similar statement with regards to Kelantan civil servants' salaries.