GEORGE TOWN – Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has called on government backbenchers and opposition assemblymen in the state assembly to defend the state’s sovereignty in the face of continuing claims that Penang belongs to Kedah.
“Penang is a sovereign state in the Federation of Malaya since Merdeka in 1957, under the federal and state constitutions.
“I believe that all elected representatives will defend the sovereignty of Penang,” he said, showing copies of the two constitutions in the assembly.
“So, there is no need to evaluate and nothing to respond to the claims of the Kedah government,” he said during the debate on Budget 2022 today.
He said this in reply to a question from Lee Khai Loon (Machang Bubuk-PH) on the role of the federal government in the issue of Kedah claiming lease compensation of RM100 million a year from Putrajaya over Penang.
Chow said Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor had not raised the issue of the compensation during a recent meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
Sanusi also did not raise the matter during the meeting attended by menteris besar and chief ministers with Ismail, but continues to issue statements and interviews with the media over the issue, he said.
“I think he is not brave enough to raise the issue with the federal government and the prime minister. However, he has been brave enough to talk about it with the media,” Chow said.
He said the federal and state constitutions are clear in stating that Penang is a sovereign state, and there had been no questions of Penang’s sovereignty raised before this in relation to both constitutions and the Kedah and Penang (Alteration of Boundary) Act 1985, he said.
He said this when state opposition leader Muhamad Yusoff Mohd Noor (Sg Dua-BN) told the government to sit at a table with Kedah on the controversial issue of Penang’s ownership.
The issue blew up after Sanusi had claimed in the Kedah assembly in September that Penang is a state leased from Kedah and, therefore, should not criticise its neighbour over its projects.
Sanusi earlier said the RM100 million annual compensation is among Kedah’s wishlist for Budget 2022, which includes royalty payment, infrastructure, compensation for paddy land, and loan write-offs.
Putrajaya now allocates a RM10 million honorarium annually in view of a purported agreement between Englishman Francis Light and the Sultan of Kedah more than two centuries ago.
It is for the lease of the island and Province Wellesley, now known as Seberang Prai, the mainland stretch of Penang. – The Vibes, November 30, 2021
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