Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has revealed a letter from the Kelantan state government requesting for financial assistance from Putrajaya.

He said the PAS-led state government asked his ministry for RM24.5 million, fearing that it would not be able to pay the salaries and emoluments of the state's civil servants.

Responding to a question on why the ministry only disbursed RM22.5 million of the requested sum, he replied: “Because this is for salaries, so we gave it to them swiftly.”

“It is not efficient budget management when we give whatever is requested. So we give what is essential,” he told reporters in Parliament this morning.

The letter dated June 18 was signed by Kelantan's financial officer Nik Kazim Nik Yussof.

Lim also stressed that financial management must be based on facts and figures, not sentiments and slander.

“If we manage the economy with sentiments and slander, the end result would be a failed state like Kelantan. It is difficult to convince the people and investors to develop a failed state,” he said.

Lim also questioned the harsh response from PAS leaders regarding his earlier statement on Kelantan's financial woes, after former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak had made a similar remark in the past.

“Is this because I am a soft target, which allows PAS to play dangerous sentiments and use slander?” he asked.

The war of words between the minister and PAS leaders followed an exchange in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday on Kelantan's finances.

Takiyuddin Hassan (PAS-Kota Baru) had asked Lim if states affected by the suspension of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) could fund the project themselves.

Lim responded that he was not confident that Kelantan would be able to raise funds for the project because “it could not even pay salaries” for the civil servants.