Speaking at a Madani Kedah event in Alor Setar, Anwar again denied claims that he had sidelined states governed by Perikatan Nasional (PN), including the PAS-led Kedah.

“Since I became finance minister, I’ve increased the allocations for the four states (governed by PN), including Kedah.

“Kelantan suffered terrible floods, so I added a flood mitigation project worth RM1 billion. It’s not that I need (support from) Kelantan, but I pity the people.

“I ask all of you to understand this. I am not anyone’s enemy. I am here to say that it is time for Kedah to be developed again,” he told the crowd gathered at Dataran Stargate.

Anwar also dismissed criticism levelled against him over the Hari Raya open house he will host in Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan, saying it would actually be cheaper than the annual open house in Seri Perdana.

“It’s not as if we will win the state election just because of that one event.

“I don’t want you to support me because of an open house. I want you to support the unity government because our policies uplift the people and the nation,” he said.

Kedah is among the six states that must hold their state elections within the next three months. The other five states are Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Penang, Kelantan, and Terengganu.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the prime minister’s annual Hari Raya open house will be held in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu this year.

This is the first time that the annual open house will not be held at the prime minister’s official residence in Putrajaya.

Anwar will also attend three other Hari Raya open houses in Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan, organised by the respective state governments.

This drew brickbats from the opposition, who claimed it contradicted Putrajaya’s commitment to do away with massive events to cut costs and that the government was politicising the festivities with the state polls looming.