Funds for private Chinese secondary schools only if the government can afford it - Mukhriz

He said the status of the schools is obvious and therefore the state government was not obliged to fund them.

"There is no provision for it in the constitution. Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil do get funds from the government," he said while winding up the Budget 2015 debate at the State Legislative Assembly Thursday.

During the debate yesterday, Teoh Boon Kok (DAP-Kota Darul Aman) and Ooi Tze Min (PKR-Bakar Arang) urged the state government to provide a special allocation to SMPC as done by the previous state government.

Currently, there are three SMPC in Kedah, namely SM Keat Hwa, SM Sin Min Alor Setar, and SM Sin Min Sungai Petani.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz said although a number of iconic projects in Kedah had not been mentioned in Budget 2016, it did not mean that they were not being implemented.

He cited the Bandaraya Getah project which had received an allocation of RM320 million in the National Budget 2016.

He said the Kedah Science and Technology Park in Bukit Kayu Hitam is expected to receive an allocation in the 11th Malaysia Plan.

Three other projects, the Kulim International Airport, Kedah Aerocity and Sungai Petani-Kedah Inner Expressway (SPIKE) are awaiting approval from the federal government, he said.