Penang under Gerakan had RM1 billion?

Penang Chief Minister’ Chow Kon Yeow’s political secretary Lau Keng Ee today dismissed claims by Penang Gerakan chief Oh Tong Keong who claimed that the island state’s reserves had dwindled from RM1 billion when DAP took over in 2008 to RM 50 million now.

Lau said checks with the state finance department found that Penang’s consolidated fund account stood at RM373.59 million as of Dec 31, 2007.

The state government’s consolidated fund only held RM1 billion in the years of 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

“The state government generally welcomes feedback from all parties, but such feedback should be based on facts,” said Lau.

“As previously stated, the Penang state government does not deny that its consolidated fund has seen a yearly decline.

“It decreased from a balance of RM1.15 billion as of Dec 31, 2019 to RM155.94 million as of Dec 31, 2024. The current balance as of May 21 this year is RM235.55 million.”

The increase in government expenditure included the implementation of welfare programmes such as i-Sejahtera, assistance for religious schools, Chinese schools, Tamil schools, and other initiatives.

Chow had previously provided a detailed explanation on the matter during his winding-up speech at the state legislative assembly on May 22, followed by a statement on Sept 11, Lau said.

Chow aims to restore the state’s consolidated revenue account to RM1 billion by 2028, the year he steps down.