AN opposition member of parliament from Kelantan was given a tick-off in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday for continuously claiming that the state was neglected by the federal government, despite it getting huge allocation for development.
Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof also chided Siti Zailah Mohd Yusoff (PAS-Rantau Panjang) for claiming that Kelantan was the only state without an expressway with the federal capital.
He said Kelantan was allocated RM942 million under the 10th Malaysian Plan and this year alone, the federal government allocated RM87 million for the state.
“To say that there is no road link between Kota Baharu and the federal capital, it is not true,” he added.
Fadillah said Siti Zailah should thank the federal government for providing huge development allocation for the state.
“The Barisan Nasional (BN) government is fair. We still give (allocation), although Kelantan does not contribute much to the country’s revenue, because we realise the people should be given priority,” he added.
To an original question from Siti Zailah, Fadillah said the road linking Kota Baharu and Kuala Krai was part of the 463.5km Central Spine federal highway from Simpang Pelangi in Pahang to Kota Baharu in Kelantan.
He said based on phase 1 of the Peninsular Malaysia Highway Network Development Plan, the Central Spine was included in the government’s plan for upgrading beginning under the 9th Malaysia Plan.
The scope of the project involves building and upgrading of the single carriageway to a dual-two carriageway.
The estimated cost pf the project is RM8 billion and will be implemented in stages.
He said the government had so far approved an allocation of RM440 million for the project, which included for design work, land acquisition and physical work on parts of the segments in package 3 (Gua Musang-Kg Relong) and part of package 5 (Raub-Bentong).
The government, he said, had also appointed a consultant to carry out design work of the Central Spine between Kota Baharu and Kuala Krai in Kelantan. — Bernama