Wee shows 'solid proof' Guan Eng said CRCC is a shareholder

MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong said he has "solid evidence" that Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) is part of the special purpose vehicle to construct the Penang undersea tunnel.

Wee also rubbished Lim’s continued insistence that he never said CRCC was a shareholder of the special purpose vehicle - Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd - set up to construct the RM6.3 billion tunnel.

"Today, I once again reveal solid evidence that Guan Eng was lying through his teeth," Wee, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's department, said in a statement.

He said the March 16-31, 2013 edition of the state newsletter Buletin Mutiara published an open letter from Guan Eng to all Penangites, in which the chief minister wrote:

“The state government had awarded the tender to Consortium Zenith BUCG, a special purpose vehicle company set up by a joint venture between local company Construction Zenith, China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd (CRCC) along with Beijing Urban Construction Group, Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd."

BUCG was dropped from the SPV after a fatal crane incident in Kuala Lumpur in 2016.

"These are words written by none other than Guan Eng himself and they prove he said that CCRC is part of the SPV," said Wee, who is MCA deputy president.

"I did not say that, neither did the so-called BN media reports state that, but it was from the Chief Minister of Penang himself. So, please be responsible for what you have said," Wee added.

Malaysiakini has contacted Lim and is awaiting his response to this claim.

Wee went on to urge Lim not to heap blame on others, nor to evade questions that MCA has raised.

'What we want is the truth from you'

He insisted that MCA leaders never meant to "sabotage" the Penang undersea tunnel project, adding "what we want is the truth from you".

Yesterday, Lim denied ever claiming that CRCC was a shareholder of Zenith, which was appointed via an open tender in 2013 to build the undersea tunnel to link the island to Butterworth.

Lim said Wee also made it look like he discovered something new when he revealed that CRCC was the project's main contractor.

"It is MCA that keeps insisting that CRCC is the shareholder," Lim had said instead.

He was then responding to Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, who met with CRCC's officials in China about the undersea tunnel issue.

Liow, who is MCA president, issued a statement saying CRCC is the project's main contractor and not a shareholder of the SPV.

He also said CRCC is concerned why the Penang government claimed it was a shareholder.

CRCC signed two agreements, including an "acknowledgement of commitment", with CRCC, Zenith and the Penang government in 2013.

The tunnel, which includes three major connecting highways, is slated to start construction in 2023 and to be completed by 2027.

The project is currently under a major investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which has questioned more than 70 people and arrested four high-ranking executives related to the project.

Lim has blamed MCA and Gerakan for the delay in the project, saying their alleged interference had "sabotaged" Penang's efforts to resolve the state's traffic woes.

- Mkini