‘SILENCE NOT AN OPTION’
MCA says state govt must explain why consultation fees were overpaid by 400pc
“ASHOCKING betrayal of the Penang people.” This is how MCA describes news reports of alleged discrepancies involving the state government’s proposed undersea tunnel project after the latest figures suggest that the state had overpaid the project’s consultation fees by 400 per cent.
On Wednesday, Barisan Nasional strategic communications director Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Dahlan urged Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to clarify why the state paid 400 per cent more for detailed design of the project involving three main roads.
He had said Lim should answer for the sake of Penang folk, adding that if the answer was unsatisfactory, or if the chief minister remained silent, the matter would be forwarded to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and police after Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Commenting on the matter, MCA national Youth treasurer and Penang MCA Youth chief Datuk Michael Lee Beng Seng expressed outrage over the disclosure that the state government had overpaid by RM136 million, out of the RM229 million already paid, to come up with reports for the three roads totalling 20km in length.
“Silence is not an option for the DAP-led Penang government. We consider this action by DAP to be a betrayal of the highest order of the Penang people.
“Penang MCA Youth will work with the authorities and continue to investigate and pursue this matter,” he said yesterday.
Lee said as pointed out by the BN strategic communications team, the RM136 million overpayment was more than the total sum of RM100 million that the state government said it had spent on flood-mitigation projects over the past eight years from 2008 to last year.
“Penang MCA Youth is shocked that the state government has got its priorities so very wrong that the wellbeing and safety of the people is put behind the interests of consultants and contractors.”