DPM: Govt fair to all states

GEORGE TOWN: Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said the federal government had always been fair in its treatment of all states, including Penang and others under the Pakatan Rakyat rule.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the federal government’s policies and projects had benefitted everyone and called on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to be fair to the people in the state regardless of their race.

He said Barisan Nasional had never side-lined Penang and the state had benefitted from the success of National Key Results Area (NKRA) initiatives.

“We have achieved almost 100% of the NKRA targets and Penang was not left out.

“We will continue to develop Penang because the rakyat need our assistance,” he said at the state Barisan Nasional Chinese New Year open house at the Penang Chinese Town Hall on Sunday.

Lim was also present at the function.

Muhyiddin urged Lim to be fair to Malays, Indians and Chinese.

“Serve the people of Penang - the Malays or Chinese or Indians. Give them the opportunity to do business as they want to earn a living by themselves,” he said, adding that the state government should provide opportunities and encouragement to entrepreneurs to earn a living instead of preventing them.

“I know that Penang is under the opposition government, but what is important is that the opposition makes a commitment to help the people just like Barisan, which has made a commitment to bring progress to the people without bias,” he said.

Muhyiddin said the government wanted to make sure that its initiatives touched all levels of society but stressed that efforts to develop the nation was not solely the responsibility of the federal government.

“If we want to become a developed nation by the year 2020, we must foster closer relationships between all races,” he added.

He said the government was trying its best to ensure that the delivery system was efficient as it realised that the people wanted to see results.

Those present at the function included state Barisan chairman Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Penang MCA chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, state MIC chairman Datuk P.K. Subbaiyah and several state exco members.