ALOR SETAR (April 26): Pakatan Harapan (PH) hopes to renegotiate Kedah's RM2.6 billion debt owed to the federal government, which is among the highest in the country, if the coalition wins in Putrajaya and the state in the coming general elections.

Former Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir, who is contesting both the Jerlun parliament and Jitra state seats, said the debt settlement would raise the federal government's revenue.

"The RM2.6 billion debt was a legacy that I inherited when I became the Menteri Besar but the federal government then ticked us off for not servicing the loan, so during my tenure, we tried to settle some so as to contribute to the government's turnover.

"Our approach also included negotiating with the federal government to reduce the debt but there was an instance during our negotiations when neither the federal government nor the state had any record of a loan amounting to RM50 million owed to the former.

"We don't know where that debt came from, what it was spent for or when it was spent. This was one the debts we tried to write off. If we win both Putrajaya and Kedah, we would continue renegotiations," he said.

Speaking to reporters after announcing Kedah's PH candidates, Mukhriz knocked Barisan Nasional (BN)'s 14th general election manifesto for the state that would allegedly consume a capital expenditure of RM65 billion to execute the promises made in there.

He questioned where BN would obtain that amount to execute the projects when the state's annual revenue amounted to less than RM700 million.

"Based on our annual revenue calculations, Kedah would take 95 years to raise RM65 billion. This is not a feasible manifesto. It is nothing but an election gimmick," he added.

When talking to some 800 people on an open field near the tollgate earlier, he asked where would BN get RM65 billion to fund the manifesto, more so when the government has cut subsidies and MARA scholarship.

However, in Kedah, PH is looking at robust industrialisation to boost its economy and make it stronger like Penang, Selangor and Johor.

"Kedah has had a weak economy for too long. We will boost the economy. I was in the midst of doing it but my term was cut short (after 33 months of being in office). I didn't even get a chance to collect my pension.

"Nevertheless, now we will build more high technology parks similar to the Kulim Hi-Tech Park that was opened by my father Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed in 1996. Today, it has 26,000 workers with an average salary of RM6,800 while 95% of them are locals," he said.

He also said water problems would be resolved by upgrading the pipes in order to reduce wastage which results in the state owning one of the highest non-revenue water records, about 50%, in Malaysia.