Menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said while there were significant allocations and projects for the benefit of Kedahans, the state deserved more.

In a statement, he said Kedah had had to make huge “sacrifices” for the sake of national interest.

One such sacrifice, he said, was having to keep rice fields as agricultural land when the state could easily have converted them to commercial or industrial land and reaped “multi-fold” returns in taxes.

He said the rice fields supplied 43% of the country’s demand. He had previously asked for an incentive of RM177 million to keep padi fields from being gazetted as commercial zones.

The sum was derived from the RM1.78 billion that he estimated Kedah would collect in taxes if it were to convert all padi fields to commercial land.

“We are also forced to keep our forest reserves of 341,000 hectares, mostly in Ulu Muda because it is a water catchment area for Kedahans, especially for the irrigation of padi fields and Penangites, too.

“For these sacrifices, I hope that we can continue to negotiate with the federal government from time to time,” he said.

Sanusi said he was thankful for the RM20 million allocated for less developed states, which included Kedah.

He said the funds to repair eroded beaches at Pantai Merdeka and a historical tourism project in Sungai Batu was also much appreciated.