MACC urged to probe not all sugar and sPICE deal

The BN Youth wing suspect something fishy in the way the contracts were given out for the RM300 million sPICE project.

GEORGE TOWN: The proposed RM300 million subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Center (sPICE) has got the opposition Barisan Nasional all riled up.

The BN Youth wing feels that there is something fishy in the way the contracts for the project was handed out.

The Youth wing has lodged a graft report at the Penang office of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here today.

The report claims that the project contained elements of nepotism and cronyism. Its Youth chief Oh Tong Keong asked why under the deal, the Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP) was obliged to set aside a land for free to sPICE developer Eco-Meridian Sdn Bhd (EMSB), a subsidiary of SP Setia Bhd.

He claimed EMSB/Setia is being allowed to build 450 low-medium-cost houses (LMS) on the free land and pocket all the proceeds from the sales.

Oh also accused Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng of misleading the people by claiming earlier that the LMCs would cost below RM72,500 per unit.

“However, under the agreement, the LMCs would be sold for more than that,” he alleged.

In the concession deal inked between MPPP and EMSB, SP Setia, which is financing the bulk of sPICE construction cost, will be allowed to build an extra 1,500 houses each in the various projects it would undertake in Penang island.

The developer has also been given various tax concessions for the sPICE project.

“Why SP Setia was given so many concessions? Is it an ad-hoc policy based on favouritism?” asked Oh, who is also the Gerakan state Youth chief.

‘Guan Eng has misled the people’

Previously, Lim claimed that MPPP, which currently maintains the Penang International Sports Arena (PISA), would invest only RM11.5 million in the project, via a public-private partnership agreement with EMSB.

However, Gerakan lawyers, who were allowed to scrutinise the agreement under a controlled environment in Komtar two weeks ago, revealed that MPPP would contribute a whopping RM50 million for the project.

“Again the chief minister has misled the people,” Oh said, adding that the deal was inked even before the councillors had formally approved the investment.

Oh said that sPICE was all about demolishing PISA and re-developing the 3,000 sqm site with an exclusive club house for the rich and elites.

He pointed out that MPPP sold the project site in Relau for a mere RM100 psf on Aug 19, 2011, when the market price for the land within the vicinity ranged from RM200 to RM300 psf.

The sPICE project would create a “Penang People’s Park” that includes a seven-acre public park on the rooftop, a refurbished and upgraded sports arena, a refurbished and upgraded aquatic centre and a four-star hotel with retail outlets and a spacious parking lot.

Built at a cost of RM105 million 11 years ago by the previous Gerakan-led Barisan Nasional state government, PISA is the largest fully air-conditioned multi-purpose indoor venue in the northern Peninsula.

Lim has said that sPICE was a worthy investment in tandem with his administration’s goal of turning George Town into an “international and intelligent” hub.

Oh also questioned the reason behind the state government’s decision to award the contract to a KL-based company, and not to capable local companies.