Lim Guan Eng said the PAS administration in Kelantan had, for instance, failed to build homes for flood victims “since three years ago”.
“And now when we see floods in Kelantan, they are worse due to the loss of forests and logging in the state.
“For whom is all that for? Not the people because they are getting poorer. This happens when the economy is not well-managed,” he told reporters at Komtar today when asked to comment.
Lim, who is DAP secretary-general, accused Hadi of supporting Umno, PAS’ political enemy.
“He wants to tightly embrace Umno. That is why he would rather have Barisan Nasional survive than Pakatan taking over Putrajaya.
“That doesn’t make sense to us because that will cause PAS to lose Kelantan in the end,” he said.
Lim cited reports that Kelantan Umno chief and cabinet minister Mustapa Mohamed had spoken of PAS’ failure in governing Kelantan, which has been the Islamist party’s stronghold for 27 years.
Bernama reported yesterday that Mustapa said the people had given PAS the chance to develop Kelantan for the last 27 years but “there have been no changes… if at all there were (developments), they were by the federal government”.
Lim also said he could not understand what Hadi meant by Penang neglecting the welfare of Muslims.
“I am taking his remarks as baseless. I regret an ustaz can make slanderous remarks like this.
“If we look at the amount of money spent on Islamic affairs, it is clear we have increased the funds set aside for Muslim welfare by 100% compared with the time of the previous administration,” he said.
Lim said the Penang government had been giving aid annually to Islamic religious schools, not just vernacular and mission schools that were not fully-funded by the federal government.
“We have not just given money, which amounts to RM60 million. We gave land too. This has never happened before (under the last administration),” he said.
“Does he (Hadi) have eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear and a heart that does not feel? I think I will let the facts speak for themselves,” he said.
Over the weekend, Penang religious affairs exco Abdul Malik Abul Kassim had said allocation to Islamic religious affairs and schools had gone up 300% under the Pakatan government, which had also given a piece of prime land worth RM80 million for the building of the new shariah court complex on Jalan Scotland.
PAS left the opposition coalition when it broke ties with DAP in 2015 after both parties fought over PAS’ push to implement an Islamic penal code in Kelantan. Leaders from both parties have been at loggerheads since.
Following Hadi’s remarks against the DAP-led state government, the Penang PAS leadership also accused the administration of failing to help Muslims in the state, defending their party boss’ statement.
State commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff recently said there was a “lack of interest” to protect Malay villages and the local council practised double standards when dealing with hawkers.
He claimed that rural Malay hawkers were targeted while non-Malay hawkers in the city centre, like those on New Lane, a popular location for street food, were allowed to operate freely.
Penang Island City councillor Ong Ah Teong said the hawker issue raised by Fauzi was an old one.
He said several years ago when PAS had representatives appointed as councillors, the enforcement on hawkers was also highlighted with one PAS councillor raising an issue on illegal hawkers by the beach near Queensbay Mall.
“The councillor also asked for action against the illegal Malay hawkers there during our meeting,” he told FMT.
Ong said under the present administration, many Malay hawkers had obtained licenses to do business.
“Some of them are doing business off Jalan Penang, in Bukit Kukus, Paya Terubong. The council doesn’t look at race when it enforces the law,” he said.
He also said while the city council took action against illegal hawkers and their illegally built structures, it also spent millions to upgrade markets, hawker complexes and sites to benefit the small businesses.
On the New Lane hawkers, who were mostly non-Malays, he said their operation had been licensed since 2000 – before the government changed – and they were only allowed to operate at certain hours.
“The council allowed New Lane to be partially closed during certain hours for hawker business after seeking the people’s views. There were no objections from locals in the area,” he said.