It should have been an occasion for a toast, both by the state and the federal governments. Instead, what transpired subsequently was a debate that seems to have escalated into a political dispute about whether Penang, governed by the Pakatan Rakyat, is getting its fair share of economic allocations from the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government.

And with all sorts of figures and acronyms thrown in for the media to gobble, the public may be excused for feeling confused over what the actual situation is like.

In early February, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Penang’s former chief minister, insisted during a Chinese New Year function that the federal government had not ignored Penang. Rather, 10 out of the 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs) would focus on the development of Penang, he said.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who was seated among the VIPs at the function, must have been bemused. He later shot back that when the 19 federal Entry Point Projects (EPP) involving RM67 billion in investments – said to create 35,000 jobs and increase Gross National Income by RM35 billion – were unveiled in January, not one was located in Penang.

"Penang’s failure to snare even one out of the 19 EPPs is unfair, discriminatory and unacceptable when there are only 13 states in Malaysia excluding the Federal Territory," Lim said in a statement. As one of the 13 beneficiary states, he said, Penang should on a proportional basis get at least RM5 billion from the RM67 billion total investments laid out through the 10 NKEAs.

Lim may have a point. Even as the second smallest state, accounting for only 6% of Malaysia’s population, Penang contributed 8-9% of the country’s GDP last year.

But his insistence was countered by a statement from the federal government’s Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu). Penang, it contended, has not been left out of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) contrary to claims.

And to back its claim, the agency plopped on the table some fresh news – that 95 EPPs would be implemented in Penang over the next 10 years within 11 NKEAs. Pemandu maintained that it was inaccurate to adopt a proportional approach to determine the amount of investment that a state is entitled to. "Where inclusiveness is concerned, the ETP aims to share the wealth of the country with all segments of the population, whether urban or rural, regardless of gender and in all regions, including Penang, although the island is under the opposition pact government," it said.

Lim, however, stood his ground. "So far no information has been forthcoming about the projects and funding for Penang even though the 10th Malaysian Plan was unveiled on June 10, 2010 in Parliament," he said.

One may be forgiven for feeling bamboozled by all these grand announcements and the defiant counter-assertions. Well, the bottom line is that it is about share of the country’s economic pie, and the actual implementation .

Some RM230 billion was set out for the 10th plan with 60% physical development and 40% non-physical development based on seven key thrusts. But Lim says that nine months after the 10th plan was launched, the state government still does not know how much the state has been allocated and what projects would be identified.

There was at least one information available. A statement by Koh’s counterpart, Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yackop, said Penang recorded the highest utilisation of funds (91.84%) on federal development projects totalling RM7.176 billion under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

For better or for worse, the debate does not seem to be abating. And anyone baffled by the hail of letters and numbers can only hope the race between the two sides to service and impress would ultimately work to the public’s own benefit.

** Republished with permission. This article first appeared in the February 17, 2011 issue of theSun. Himanshu is theSun’s Penang bureau chief.