GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has come out in defence of Prime Minister Najib Razak over the latter’s remark on flood mitigation allocations to the state.

Lim said many “BN media outlets” had misreported Najib as saying he would give an allocation of RM150 million for flood mitigation.

Lim said the misreporting had caused many parties to slam Najib for merely “recycling” what had been announced before.

“I was next to him when the PM made the announcement. He told me that RM150 million in flood mitigation funds had been ‘already approved’ earlier.

“And the only thing new is that he would ‘seriously consider approving’ a RM1 billion allocation for flood mitigation projects.

“There were some parties that attacked the PM, claiming that he made a recycled announcement.

“The PM did not announce the new allocation, it was misreported by the press. His own media misreported him, that caused him to be subjected to the effects.

“I am not trying to defend him, he has a lot of people to do that for him. I think it is only fair we state the facts,” Lim said at a press conference outside the state assembly chambers today.

The RM150 million in question was approved by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar in November last year.

This was after the Penang government grumbled over a 20-year delay on funds for the stalled third phase of the Sungai Pinang river basin flood mitigation project.

The state feels once the project is completed, it will effectively resolve flooding along low-lying areas near Sungai Pinang, the island’s longest river.

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