In a stunning move which is likely to anger Penang, the government has put off two major projects in the state - the RM2 billion monorail and RM1.5 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr).

According to evening edition of Chinese dailies, the government has slashed the two mega-projects as part of a major review to the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

penang monorail and penang outer ring road cancelled However, the government denied that the move was aimed to punish Penangnites who have voted the opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition into power in the state.

It stressed that the shelving of the projects was part of the government's "relocation" of resources to cushion the impact of the unprecedented hike in global oil prices.

The controversial Porr is a 17-kilometre expressway that stretches from Tanjung Tokong to Gelugor in the island, while the monorail was proposed two years ago to help overcome worsening traffic jams in Penang's congested roads.

The postponing of the two projects came despite that the government has promised to invest more on public transportation in the wake of 40 percent hike in petrol prices.

Additional RM30 bil for 9MP

The government has also decided to pump in another RM30 billion over the next two-and-a-half years to alleviate the increase in the cost of living among poor Malaysians.

RM10 billion of the additional allocation will go to the five corridor projects which were announced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi over the past two years.

In addition, RM2 billion will be used for the once-postponed double-tracking project from Ipoh to Rawang.

These new measures are expected to be announced in Parliament when Abdullah submits the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.