GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow took a swipe at Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, saying the latter has never made demands for "lease payments" through official channels.
Chow claimed Muhammad Sanusi also did not bring up the issue during the Chief Ministers and Menteris Besar meeting chaired by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob recently.
"Muhammad Sanusi did not utter anything during the recent meeting although it was an official platform.
"It seems that he would only dare issue statements through the press.
"If he is really serious, he should have officially written to the federal government on his demands," he told the state legislative assembly sitting this morning.
Chow (DAP - Padang Kota) was answering a supplementary question by Lee Khai Loon (PKR - Machang Bubuk) on whether Kedah's demands for "lease payments" from Penang were raised through official platforms or during the recent meeting between state leaders as well as the federal government.
Prior to this, Penang had dismissed Muhammad Sanusi's demands for RM100 million a year in "lease payments" for Penang island and Seberang Prai.
Chow had said that the federal government need not entertain Kedah's demands, which was over and above the existing agreement.
Muhammad Sanusi had also wanted the honorarium that the federal government had been paying on Penang's behalf to be raised to RM100 million.
The honorarium was set at RM10,000 for decades but was raised to RM10 million a year by the federal government from 2018.
Before that, Muhammad Sanusi had also demanded for annual payments from Penang for raw water extraction from Sungai Muda as well as payment from the federal government to stop logging in Ulu Muda.
At today's state legislative assembly sitting, Chow raised both the federal and state constitutions to prove that Penang was a sovereign state in the Federation of Malaysia.
"As such, there is no need for Penang to consider any demands from Kedah," he stressed.
Chow also expressed optimism that the people of Penang would rally behind him to defend Penang's sovereignty.
In a related development, Chow said any claims that Penang belonged to Kedah should be thoroughly studied from all legal aspects.
"This is to avoid any confusion among the people of Penang and Kedah," he added.