Abdul rahman challenges lim to a public debate on land issue

KUALA LUMPUR: Following the controversies and corruption allegations involving the Penang Chief Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan has invited Lim Guan Eng for a public debate on the Taman Manggis land issue.

Speaking to reporters at an event in Parliament here, Abdul Rahman said he did not mind publicly sharing the information he had on the issue.

“Will I have a debate? That is up to him. It’s not a problem if he is willing to come forward. I will have a one-to-one debate in front of every body,” he said.

The Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister added he would not mind meeting Lim.

“If he is willing to listen it’s not a problem, but this conversation should not be dominated (by Lim).

“The problem with him is that he needs to let the people understand. I come forward publicly hoping that he would come out publicly to answer.

“(Instead) this funny idea, romantic idea that he has to have coffee with a minister, with an MP, is so Lim Guan Eng,” he said.

Abdul Rahman stressed that he was ready to meet Lim publicly.

“We come out in public with all the documents, so it is incumbent upon him as the Chief Minister of Penang. He owes it to the people of Penang to come out publicly and not in some smoked dark room, me and him having coffee,” he said.

On Tuesday, Abdul Rahman told a press conference that Lim had denied that the Taman Manggis land had been sold to a third party.

He claimed Lim did not disclose that the land was now held by Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd (KLIDC) and the sale of the shares of KLIDC had the same effect like selling the land.

Abdul Rahman further argued that the land was resold by KLIDC to a third party five years later for RM70.6mil with a projected profit of RM59mil, despite the core project being undeveloped.

The two documents provided by Abdul Rahman were signed and stamped Sale and Purchase Agreements dated Nov 11, 2015. The purchase price of the sub-sale transaction of the land was listed at RM70,643,628.

However, the name of the latest buyer of the land had been blacked out.

In an immediate response, Lim had said that Abdul Rahman was making these allegations against him as personal attacks to gain political mileage.

However, when asked if he would press charges against Abdul Rahman, Lim said he would wait for a face-to-face confrontation with him first.