ALOR STAR: Kedah Umno Information chief Datuk Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin has urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to exercise caution in accommodating the state government's "absurd development wish lists".
Shaiful said the state government's idea to develop a Light Rapid Transit (LRT) system in Langkawi is utterly unrealistic and not suitable with the current needs.
"How big is Langkawi island that it requires a high-speed train, and how many tourists and Langkawi residents are there that we need a train with the capacity to accommodate hundreds of thousands passengers?
"That is why Sanusi's (Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor) wish list is illogical.
"It's like a boy who is asking for all sorts of gifts from Santa Claus. When he doesn't get them, he will throw tantrums and blame everyone," he said in a statement.
Therefore, Shaiful, who is also Merbok Umno division chief, said Anwar and the Federal government should be careful and should not take it seriously to the Kedah absurd wish list.
"The Transport Ministry also should not approve the Langkawi LRT because it is humiliating and makes Kedah look like a fool," he said.
"Because in the end, Sanusi will not succeed anyway in completing the mega projects. Just look at the KXP, KRC, Widad Langkawi, motorcycle racing track and so on. At the end of the day, he will pin the blame on the federal government," added Shaiful.
He claimed that Sanusi is known for simply making project announcements just to show that he is doing his job and to seek the people's attention but failing to implement them.
"The prime minister and the government should focus on enhancing and instilling confidence in the federal agencies in Kedah, including the ICU (Implementation Coordination Unit) to directly handle development projects in the state," he said.
Anwar is scheduled to attend a briefing on the state development projects at Wisma Darul Aman here during his visit to Kedah tomorrow.
Later in the evening, he will attend the Madani Aidilfitri open house in Tasik Darulaman, Jitra.
On Monday, state-owned Permodalan Kedah Bhd (PKB) entered a pact with South Korea's Royal Eco Train Development (RETD) to study the development of a LRT system in Kedah's tourism jewel of Langkawi.
State Industry and Investment, Higher Education, Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee chairman Dr. Haim Hilman Abdullah said that studies covering the project's technical, geographical, and economic impact on locals would take between three to six months.
However, the proposal has received criticism from Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional leaders in Kedah.
They argued that Sanusi should have focused on completing projects that are behind schedule, such as the five Water Treatment Plants and resolving water supply woes in the state instead of developing LRT in Langkawi.
Yesterday, Transport Minister Anthony Loke said the ministry has not been informed about Kedah state government's proposal to build a LRT system Langkawi.
He was reported as saying that the state government must initiate the process by applying for approval from the Land Public Transport Agency
