PERMATANG PAUH – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has denied claims that the federal government is oppressing the states with regards to the distribution of allocations or development, including the approval of the proposed Kulim International Airport (KXP) project in Kedah.
Anwar said any proposal to build an airport requires careful study before it can be implemented as it involves several important aspects, especially national security, and has to go through certain procedures and regulations.
“You need to ask the Royal Malaysian Air Force whether you can get clearance for the flight zone.
“Someone said Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar (Albukhary) would pay for (the KXP construction project), and I asked him: if he wanted to do it, why didn’t he tell me?
“Syed Mokhtar replied: ‘Brother, I have no proposal to build an airport, there is already a lot of work’.
“An airport cannot be built so easily. It touches on the issue of national security. If you want to be a leader, you have to study a little, you have to study more than others,” said Anwar during a tea reception with the residents of Kg Sama Gagah near here today.
Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor was previously reported to have said that Anwar should set aside his “personal interests” and speed up the approval to build KXP.
Sanusi claimed that he has made every effort to realise the project located within the Kedah Aerotropolis. – Bernama, June 30, 2023