Gerakan tells KLIDC man to clear his name via an SD

Party sec-gen tells Tang Yong Chew a statutory declaration could also help clear Lim Guan Eng's name over his purchase of an under-priced bungalow.

GEORGE TOWN: Tang Yong Chew, the majority owner of the Kuala Lumpur International Dental Centre Sdn Bhd (KLIDC) should make a statutory declaration to clear his name and that of Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng over the purchase of a bungalow by the latter, the Gerakan said today.

Party secretary-general Liang Teck Meng said just as the seller of the bungalow, Phang Li Koon, made a SD to shed light on the controversy over the sale, Tang too should affirm a SD to “dismiss at least some of the existing allegations that are now casting doubt on his (Lim’s) integrity.”

The Penang chief minister has come under fire in recent weeks for purchasing the bungalow for RM2.8 million, which, it is claimed by his critics, was below the market price then. The critics, from the Barisan Nasional, claim there is a link between the sale of the bungalow and the sale of land at Taman Manggis to KLIDC.

Saying he was impressed with Phang’s willingness to affirm a SD in support of Lim over the under-priced bungalow sale, Liang urged Lim to get in touch with Tang.

He suggested that Tang’s SD include the following:

• That Tang did not enter into an agreement to sell KLIDC Sdn Bhd and the associated company Victoria International Medical Centre;
• That neither KLIDC nor Tang got approval from the Penang State Government to sell the shares of KLIDC to another party;
• That KLIDC’s official audited accounts was not at a negative net asset value for the Financial Year 2010 – the year it was allowed to buy the Taman Manggis land – and that it did not have an auditor stating that there was significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a growing concern;
• That KLIDC’s official audited accounts for the Financial year 2014 – the year it got planning approval for the high-rise hospital and hotel-cum-serviced suites from the Penang government – did not state that the company had zero employees and zero revenue;
• That Tang is not a majority shareholder of at least 70% or more shareholding and/or chairman of at least three companies where Phang is a minority shareholder – including the companies named Winbond Management and Consultancy Sdn Bhd (288507-H), Magnificent Emblem Property Sdn Bhd (1000878-M) and Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd (709376-D).
• That Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd does not have a business relationship with the Penang Government and did not put in a bid to the state-owned Penang Development Corp (PDC) to build and operate a workers’ quarters project in Juru, near to the Bukit Minyak Industrial Park;
• That in April 2014, Magnificent Emblem did not receive an offer letter from the PDC to accept the project, even though it might not have been the lowest bidder, after a decision was made by the PDC’s tender board meeting chaired by Lim; and
• That Magnificent Emblem did not try to significantly change the terms of its proposal after receipt of the offer letter, hence causing the offer letter to be withdrawn and the project to be re-tendered.