In a statement today, the chief minister, Lim Guan Eng, countered criticisms made by Barisan Nasional that Penang’s per capita GDP growth rate from 2007-2015 had been the lowest among all states.

Lim pointed out that Penang had recorded only a 5.9 per cent growth rate for 2006-2007, the lowest among all states, when Penang was under a Barisan Nasional government.

By contrast, he said Penang recorded a 6.4 per cent GDP growth rate for 2014-2015, from RM42,130 per person to RM44,847 per person, which he was the highest among all states. He also quoted growth rate figures of 9.5 per cent for 2013-2014 (second-highest), 3.9 per cent for 2012-2013 (third-highest).

However, last week’s criticism was based on an eight-year spread, from 2007 to 2015, for which Statistics Department figures showed a 44 per cent increase in GDP per person, from RM31,039 in 2007 to RM44,847 per person in 2015. The growth rate was the lowest among all states.

Kelantan outstripped Penang with a 73.9 per cent increase from 2007-2015.

Lim said, however, that the Pakatan Rakyat had turned Penang’s economy into “one of the most dynamic in Malaysia” and highlighted its budget surplus of RM574 million accumulated from 2008-2015, and the increase of the state’s assets from RM850 million to RM1.6 billion.