GEORGE TOWN, Nov 25 — Penang’s economic excellence of achieving RM72,586 of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita was not felt by the people, especially those in the low-income group, said state Opposition leader Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff (PAS-Sungai Dua).

He said there are a total 1,650 heads of households in Penang who are still in the hardcore poor status, involving a total 4,994 household members.

"This showed that the goal to achieve zero poverty in Penang by June 1 this year as announced by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not achieved and were merely populist rhetorics,” he said during his speech when debating the Supply Bill at the state legislative assembly today.

He said it is good that Penang is recording economic progress but this only widened the gap between the rich and the poor as those in the low-income group were still facing financial difficulties due to escalating costs of living.

"The inflation rate in Penang continues to be high, higher than the national rate as the national inflation rate is 1.9 per cent, while in Penang, the inflation rate is at 3.1 per cent,” he said.

Later in a press conference, he said the increasing costs of living were partly due to the increase in prices of housing and water tariff rate.

"This is before the targeted petrol subsidy rationalisation exercise as we can expect that everyone will also be affected by that when it is implemented,” he said.

He said the increase in prices of petrol will bring up transport costs and this will also impact the low-income group.

"On top of that, we have to present our IC when filling our vehicles with petrol so next year, don’t forget to bring your IC when you need to go to the petrol station,” he said.

He also appealed to the state government to consider increasing the allocation for the Opposition assemblymen.

"What can you do with RM60,000 for a year? It is not enough, it costs me RM30,000 just to tar a small section of a road,” he said.

Due to the limited allocation, he said Opposition assemblymen must now find alternative funding sources to assist their constituents.