Ku Nan Wants To Federalise Penang To Help Neglected Malays
He insisted that this proposal "was not to extend authority over the state".
By Sadho Ram — 05 Feb 2017, 05:40 PM
Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan bin Tengku Mansor, an UMNO man who is the Federal Territories Minister, wants to make Penang a federal territory "to ensure equal development in the northern state"
Insisting that such a proposal "was not to extend authority over the state but to help the Malays", Tengku Adnan, who is nicknamed Ku Nan, said, "We will administer at federal level in a just manner"
Ku Nan justified his proposal saying, "We know what is happening in Penang. They (the state government) do not care about the Malays."
"We will administer at the federal level in a just manner like in Labuan where we invested over RM5 billion since the date of the takeover," he added.
According to Ku Nan, the federal government will ensure that the development in Penang is enjoyed by all and not by only one race
Saying it was just an idea which requires a proposal, referendum and approval at the national level, Ku Nan said that he wonders why the DAP is jumping over this issue.
"Maybe they are not administering Penang well," the Federal Territories Minister added.
Reactions to Ku Nan's proposal has been negative, with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng himself voicing strong objection
"We are not happy to give up our state. This is unacceptable. We will tell Adnan 'Tidak, bu yao and mudiathu' ("no" in BM, Mandarin, and Tamil)," he said.
"It is strange and inappropriate. Don't even try it. Penangites will never be happy to become an extinct state. This can be considered seditious. I do not want to be the last chief minister of Penang. There will be other CMs after me. I do not want to be a pembelot dan pengkhianat (traitor)," Malaysiakini reported him as saying.
And Deputy President of Amanah, Salahuddin Ayub, accused Ku Nan of stoking racial tension by alleging that Malays were being marginalised in Penang, stressing that such claims were untrue
"Tengku Adnan should be ashamed and look himself in the mirror and ask himself about the fate of the people who are living difficult lives in the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur and Labuan. Issues like squatters and low and middle-cost housing are still unresolved issues there even though it has become a source of public outcry."
He added that it was ironic that issues of urban poverty are most prevalent in the country's capital where Tengku Adnan is the minister in charge.
On the other hand, Segambut MP Lim Lip Eng said that if the idea of turning Penang into a federal territory, as Ku Nan has proposed, was truly to help the Malays, he has chosen the wrong state
"He should instead (consult the royalty) to hold a referendum in Kelantan and Terengganu for the two states to be turned into federal territories under the governance of Tengku Adnan himself," Lip Eng was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini.
"This is because the two Malay-majority states are among the poorest in the country. In fact, Tengku Adnan should first make efforts to return Kelatan's oil royalties to its people, so that the state can stop its extensive logging activities," the DAP lawmaker added.
