Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has courted criticism for revealing a letter from the Kelantan state government seeking financial assistance from Putrajaya.

In a series of Twitter postings this afternoon, Gerakan Youth chief Tan Keng Liang said he believes that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would not behave like the DAP secretary-general.

“I think the Cabinet should view this seriously. Should communication between states and Putrajaya be revealed in this way?

“I doubt PM (Mahathir) will ever publish letters written to him in this manner. Trust is important between states and the federal government,” he added.

Stressing that he is not taking sides, Tan, however, described Lim's action as “utterly wrong.”

“Where is the duty on confidentiality?” he asked, adding that the minister should respect the confidentiality of the communication between the states and the federal government.

This morning, Lim had furnished the media with copies of the letter following his verbal tussle with PAS leaders over Kelantan's finances.

The letter dated June 18 and addressed to the Finance Ministry was signed by Kelantan's financial officer Nik Kazim Nik Yussof.

Lim said the PAS-led state government requested 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.

The exchange over Kelantan's finances started in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday when PAS lawmaker Takiyuddin Hassan asked Lim if states affected by the suspension of the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) could fund the project themselves.

The minister 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.