The government assistance for the people in Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency are not merely goodies ahead of the by-election, said Johor Menteri Besar Dr Sahruddin Jamal.

Sahruddin (photo) said the infrastructure and education assistance, and fishermen welfare aid had been planned much earlier when former MP Mohd Farid Mohd Rafik was still alive.

“In fact, Farid had worked hard to ensure further development in the Tanjung Piai area. We are not giving out goodies to win votes as Farid had applied for this assistance,” he told reporters after handing over fish fries and cages at the Kukup International Ferry Terminal near Pontian today.

It was reported that earlier announcements on allocations made by several ministers in Tanjung Piai had drawn criticism from the opposition, who claimed the move was to win votes.

However, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had denied that the RM7 million allocation provided for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency was to gain the support of the constituents.

Mahathir stressed that the government was just doing its job and that the allocation unintentionally coincided with the date of the Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election.

- Bernama