PM rejects cruelty claims, cites increased aid to opposition states
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2025-08-06,KUALA LUMPUR
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed claims of cruelty and discrimination, saying his government has increased allocations to opposition-led states.
For about four minutes, Anwar explained why calling the government "cruel" was unfair.
"Even though we are accused by some that we discriminate, that we are cruel... when we look at the numbers, the allocations for Kelantan, Terengganu, Perlis, and Kedah have increased. It's higher than when they were the government," he said.
Anwar added, "Do not say that we are cruel and do not provide (allocations), because the allocations have increased."
He was speaking while answering questions during Prime Minister's Question Time yesterday.
Anwar also said he had given RM1 billion to the Muda Agricultural Development Authority (Mada) for the first phase and had expedited the process to provide such allocations.
Anwar said the state government had withdrawn allocations for Sekolah Agama Rakyat in 2003, while the current federal government reinstated them in 2022.
In a jest, he said: "The cruel ones are those who cancelled the allocations — yet they're the ones being praised."