Lim said Tengku Adnan, also known as Ku Nan, must respond to growing opposition to his idea, as the mere proposal had created unease among Penangites and other Malaysians.
“In Penang’s opinion, the FT idea cannot be justified or defended. He should not hide or keep quiet. He must respond to calls by others opposing his suggestion.
“We all know some people want to turn Penang as FT, as a pretext to stop state elections so they can rule Penang directly from Putrajaya.
“We want Ku Nan to withdraw his suggestion and apologise for the idea,” Lim said at a press conference at Komtar today.
Lim said the mounting opposition to Tengku Adnan’s proposal was clear, with participants of the anti-FT “I love Penang” fun run on Mar 12 swelling from 4,000 to 6,000 people from all over Malaysia.
On Jan 31, Tengku Adnan told radio station BFM89.9 that if he had the chance, he would want to turn Langkawi, parts of Malacca, and Penang into FTs. He later added Tioman Island to the list.
He said this was to ensure adequate funding, development, and housing for these areas from the federal government.
The idea was met with fierce opposition by the Penang government, with neighbouring Kedah also saying no to the Langkawi takeover.
Later, Penang Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman said Tengku Adnan’s intentions were misunderstood, as he only wanted the best for Penangites.
Zainal said the minister had wanted to turn Penang island into a tax haven.
There were no plans to turn the whole state into an FT, just the island, Zainal added.
He said Tengku Adnan’s idea would remain an idea as it would not likely happen.
Fed-Penang a tax haven? That’s FT minister’s hope, says Umno