Penang govt could end up paying RM10 billion

GEROGE TOWN: The RM1 billion figure the Penang government needs to pay if land reclamation projects are postponed is only a conservative estimate, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

He added the state may be liable to up to 50 times the amount and based his reasoning on a court case on a land issue where the state was ordered to pay some RM29 million in compensation in 2007.

He said actual losses accrued by the plaintiff then was some RM658,000 and the judgement included compensation over profits lost.

As an example, Lim said a developer may have spent RM200 million to reclaim land which meant the state may be liable to RM10 billion in compensation if the project was cancelled.

“This can bankrupt the state, but we will not allow Penang to be bankrupt,” he told a press conference yesterday.

Last month, Lim said the state was liable for RM1 billion in compensation if reclamation of some 1,011ha, approved under the Barisan Nasional administration was postponed and challenged the state BN to get the federal government to indemnify the state.

Reclamation has been under the spotlight after the emergence of a proposal to reclaim two large of tracts off the southern coast of Penang island to fund the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

On the passing of the National Security Council Bill by the Senate, Lim said the Bill eroded human rights and that heads of state government like Chief Ministers and Mentris Besar should also be part of the Council but were not.