18 June 2019

 

Press statement by MCA Vice President Datuk Tan Teik Cheng


Land Swap, Land Reclamation, Federal Funding: What’s the price tag on PTMP?


 

The Penang state government has requested for federal funding for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP). Thus, how will it justify the ongoing land fill in the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, and the land swap deal which is supposed to bear the cost of the PTMP? Has the development cost for the 50-year project skyrocketed to become a bottomless pit?

 

In 2014, former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced that the PTMP will cost RM 27 billion, with this figure rising to RM 46 billion in 2017. At that time, Penang state executive councilor chairperson Chow Kon Yeow defended that the initial RM 27 billion is just from preliminary calculations, dismissing claims of budget increase, yet, it cannot be denied that the PTMP sums up to RM 46 billion.

 

The controversy-filled Penang Undersea Tunnel, an integral part of the blueprint, was paid for through a land swap deal with the developer which was worth RM 300 million.

 

On 20 June 2016, Chow Kon Yeow told the media that the 3 reclaimed islands at Penang South would result in a RM 27 billion net profit, which would be channelled into the PTMP’s development.

 

At present, Chow Kon Yeow as Penang Chief Minister has requested for federal funding to support the PTMP; yet he claimed, even if funding was approved, the state government will only consider reviewing the scale of the land reclamation at Penang South, but by no means would the land fill operations be halted.

 

The puzzling question is, on one hand, the DAP-led Penang state government is footing the bill through land swap deals, yet on the other hand they are requesting federal funding. How will they justify this absurdity? Has the PTMP price ballooned? Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow must stand up and clarify.

 

Datuk Tan Teik Cheng

MCA Vice President

MCA Penang State Liaison Committee Chairman

 

-MCA online-