Penang BN to reveal more discrepancies

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Barisan Nasional has warned that it will reveal more discrepancies in the proposed RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project in the coming days.

State BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow said a suit would be filed against the state government if it continued to remain silent on questions raised by various parties about the project.

He said Penangites had the right to demand for transparency and accountability because any payment made by the state government, whether in cash or kind, was public money. Teng said the state government had acknowledged that 1.5ha of land had been swapped as payment for the RM208 million feasibility study on the three paired roads, which formed part of the tunnel project.

“In a reply to a question at the state legislative assembly sitting on May 19 last year, the state government had made public that Lot 702 and part of Lot 713 in Bandar Tanjung Tokong had been given to a consortium on Feb 17, 2015 and March 22 last year.

“The value of 1.46ha of land under Lot 702 was valued at RM135 million and 0.8ha under partial Lot 713 was RM73 million, thus the total value of RM208 million. It is crystal clear that the feasibility study was paid for by the state government by giving two pieces of land as revealed in the state legislative assembly.”

On Thursday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had said the RM208 million land swap was for the environmental impact assessment on the three paired roads projects. However, the state legislative assembly sitting on May 19 last year was told that the land swap was payment for the feasibility studies and detailed design of the three paired roads.

“So, which is which? We want answers, and if we don’t get them, we are considering getting a court order to view the documents of the tunnel project,” said Teng.