The prime minister said unlike the previous government, the Pakatan Harapan administration has not forgotten the two PAS-held states
“They didn’t pay oil royalty to Kelantan, we do. We owe people, we pay. They owe people, they don’t pay, (but) we have to pay.
“Then they scold us for racking up debts,” he said after launching the International Medical Device Conference, Malaysia Medical Device Expo 2019 and Medical Innovation Exhibition and Conference 2019 at Mitec.
Mahathir cited the example of a contract to purchase ships from China, which he said the present government has to honour.
“When we pay, they say we are stupid for buying from China,” he added.
Yesterday, Ismail accused Putrajaya of neglecting PAS-ruled Kelantan and Terengganu, saying there were no allocations for high-impact projects there.
Putrajaya had earlier promised to pay oil royalty to Kelantan after the state government withdrew its lawsuit against Petronas.
Meanwhile, on the Kampung Baru redevelopment issue, Mahathir said the government could increase the price offered to landowners from the RM850 per sq ft offered.
But he warned it could push the prices of property in the area.
“Then we can’t sell them. Kampung Baru is for the Malays, and there are few Malays with money.
“If we follow market prices, Malays can’t get into Kampung Baru. If you want that, we will do that for you.”
Putrajaya had come under criticism over the valuations of Kampung Baru land.