Well, well, well. Malaysian Finance Minister and #realtalk artist Lim Guan Eng — who earlier this week publicly suggested Kelantan state’s plan to self-finance a railway project might not be a great idea since they’re, y’know, pretty much broke — today doubled down on that accusation in the lobby of Parliament.
The proverbial tea spiller, who earlier revealed that the conservative northeastern state had actually been forced to take a loan from the federal government to cover state civil servants’ salaries, today showed the media “evidence” in the form of a letter from the Kelanatan state government to Putrajaya, asking for RM24.5 million (US$5.88 million) so they could pay their people.
He’d first called Kelantan’s finances into question on Monday when a representative for the state’s largest city, Kota Baru, asked if their local government could proceed solo on the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) project canceled by Prime Minister Mahathir post-GE14.
Responding to the query, the finance minister reminded PAS that they were currently relying on federal assistance just to operate their state government, and were in a perilous position to embark on such a fiscally draining endeavor.
In other words, if you need to borrow money for an Uber ride home, you’re probably gonna get rejected for that bank loan to buy a Maserati. You vibe, Kelantan?
Lim then clarified that the Finance Ministry had only approved for RM22.5 million to be sent.
“It is hard to restore the confidence of the public and investors, or to rebuild a failed state, if they do not do things based on facts,” he said.
PAS leaders had called the ministry unhelpful on the matter, and played the ol’ racial and religious issues card. Lim was having none of it:
“How could some of them accuse me of (being) anti-Malay or Islam,” asked the minister.
“I don’t understand where the issue stems from. When I talk about facts and figures, and mention that the federal government provides assistance, how can they stir up racial and religious issues?
“Usually, such replies come from those who do not know how to manage the economy and will reply using such sentiments to cover up their failures,” he bluntly stated. Ouch.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has since said that it is the federal government’s responsibility to provide aid to states who need it, and that “Kelantan pays taxes, too.”
Currently, Kelantan is Malaysia’s most indebted state, owing Putrajaya more than RM388 million (US$93.2 million) in advances. Think of them as your cousin, the one who asks you to loan them money every other family function, but still hasn’t repaid you from that last cash installment.
Kelantan has voted in a PAS-led state government for the past 22 years, and is peninsular Malaysia’s least-developed state. Muslim residents must adhere to strict sharia laws, which include women wearing headscarves in public places, men avoiding shorts deemed “too short,” and the separation of sexes in movie theaters and public events.
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