The Malaysian Insight

FINANCE Minister Lim Guan Eng today hit out Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin for claiming that two of the 49 projects in Sandakan that Lim had announced this week were planned and approved by Barisan Nasional.

Lim, who on Tuesday said RM2.28 billion had been set aside for 49 development projects in Sandakan to spur local economic growth, said the former youth minister appeared to have run out of ideas on how to attack Pakatan Harapan.

“Only two out of 49? That alone shows that (Khairy) has run out of ideas… The previous government only knows how to talk but don’t know how to do,” Lim said.

If the former government had approved the projects, why hadn’t it executed them, Lim asked.

Lim said unlike BN, PH does not delay implementing projects it has approved. He said the former government was only capable of approving projects so that it could rob Malaysians of their money.

Lim was speaking in Sandakan, where DAP’s Vivian Wong was announced as the PH candidate for the May 11 by-election for the parliamentary constituency.

Wong is the daughter of the late Sandakan MP Stephen Wong Thien Fatt, who died on March 28 of a cardiac arrest.

Khairy, who is the Rembau MP and the shadow finance minister, yesterday said that two projects in Sandakan that Lim announced the day before had been authorised by the former BN government. 

Khairy said PH was merely going ahead with BN’s plans.

“The PH government’s decision to continue planned developments is appreciated. Even if you want to take credit for them, go ahead,” he added.

PH, however, should not pretend as though it was launching new initiatives, he said.

Khairy also made special mention on the Sandakan airport runway upgrade which was announced by former Prime Minister Najib Razak on May 2017.

Lim today said unlike the previous government which only knew how to postpone work on projects, the PH government has ordered work on the runaway to begin this year instead of early next year as it was scheduled to do.

Sandakan has 39,777 registered voters who are 49% Chinese, 44% Muslim Bumiputra and 6% non-Muslim Bumiputra. – April 25, 2019.