Penang sore with shelved monorail, ring road projects

Lim Guan Eng ... federal government irresponsible

Penang sore with shelved monorail, ring road projects

PENANG, June 27 — Penang is disappointed with the federal government's decision to shelve the RM2 billion Penang Monorail and RM1.5 billion Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) in the 9th Malaysia Plan with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng calling it irresponsible and detrimental to the state economy.

"It is a very irresponsible decision when the federal government, without consulting the Penang goverment, decided to hold back these two mega projects," Lim told reporters late yesterday, adding the state was willing to adjust the PORR alignment to facilitate work.

He added that the state could not finance the costly monorail project on its own. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tabled the mid-term review of the 9MP yesterday, dropping big ticket projects in favour of people-centred projects and increasing the budget allocation for the five-year masterplan to RM230 billion.

The economic planning unit (EPU) said other projects shelved included administrative centres in Kelantan, Sarawak and Pahang as the government concentrated on expanding the economy and mitigating the effects of soaring prices in fuel, rice and other staples.

Critics say Abdullah is punishing his home state for voting in the Opposition coalition of Lim's Democratic Action Party (DAP) and its partner the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) but government officials denied the allegations, saying the projects could start in the 10th Malaysia Plan.