Tun Mahathir admits to persuading Guan Eng to pay extra to Kedah
MOHAMAD AMREEL IMAN ABD MALEK
SHAH ALAM - Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad admitted that he once persuaded former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng to pay the lease of Penang to Kedah at a rate of more than RM10,000 every year during his tenure.
He said this after the controversial issue of the two states was raised by Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor
"I don't want to get involved with this controversy, but I think Muhammad Sanusi's claims are inaccurate for making an opinion based on past history.
"Historically, the Sultan of Kedah at that time agreed to hand over Penang with the payment of 6,000 Spanish dollars a year. Then the strip of mainland (Seberang Perai) was added which was worth 4,000 Spanish dollars a year in rent.
"I will not say anything about what happened to these two states except to admit that I had persuaded Guan Eng when he was the Finance Minister to give over RM10,000 to Kedah every year," he said in a post on Facebook on Tuesday.
He added that the handover to the British was tied to an agreement to defend Kedah from external threats. However, it is widely known that the British violated the agreement.
Sanusi claimed that Kedah and Penang do not have borders because Penang is still Kedah's possession.
He said Kedah only has borders with Perak and Perlis.
