PENANG GOVT SLAMMED OVER LAND SALE
No open tender process done, says Parti Cinta Malaysia
AUDREY DERMAWAN GEORGE TOWN audreymd@nst.com.my
THE Penang government has come under fire following its revelation that a prime piece of state land at Peel Avenue here had been alienated to a private hospital.
The land was sold to Island Hospital for RM156 million on a 99year lease without going through open tender.
Parti Cinta Malaysia vice-president Datuk Huan Cheng Guan said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng did not practise what he preached when he said Penang was the only state in Malaysia that practiced a blanket open tendering system.
He said the land sale to the private hospital was highly suspicious and questionable, adding that he considered lodging a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
“The chief minister should stop making excuses to justify the sale of the land. People are asking why there was no open tender.”
Acting state Gerakan Youth chief Jason Loo said the DAP-led state government lost the right to question Federal government projects that did not go through an open tender system.
He said he tried to purchase documents pertaining to the agreement between the state government and the private hospital on the land in question under the Freedom of Information (FoI) Enactment.
“This is my 20th attempt to get declassified documents for controversial projects in the state.
“My other attempts failed, but I hope luck is on my side this time since the state government has been preaching the competency, accountability and transparency mantra.”