Not a single cent has been paid to the firm that was awarded the contract to build the Penang undersea tunnel, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said.
He said the state government has not issued any payment in cash or kind to the contractor - Konsortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (previously Konsortium Zenith-BUCG) - for the RM6.3 billion tunnel project, which is slated for completion in 2027.
Lim added that no money was paid for the tunnel's feasibility study as well, which is 92 percent completed.
He reiterated that there was no rush to complete the study as the construction of the project would only begin in 2023.
"Where is the element of corruption in this project?" Lim asked at a press conference at Komtar today.
"We have done everything above board. Let the facts speak for itself. We hope the MACC will not allow itself to be used as a political tool by the BN or give the impression that it only targets the Penang government.
"However, we regret that some newspapers had published lies to run down and smear the Penang government to benefit BN in the run-up to the general election. This is an evil scheme, a political witch hunt. We will let the people decide," he stressed.
Lim was referring to a report by The Star, which said that among other issues, the MACC is looking into claims that the state government had allowed the Penang Tunnel special purpose vehicle (SPV) company to pre-sell land worth RM3 billion despite a four-year delay in the construction of roads.
The report was published after the MACC descended on Penang on Tuesday, in a major raid involving four agencies and three private companies, including Zenith, in its bid to investigate the undersea tunnel project.
Two individuals with "Datuk" titles were arrested and remanded for six days to assist in the MACC investigations, which Lim said had begun since 2016.
Dismissing the report as "untrue, lies and slanderous", Lim clarified that the contract was awarded to Zenith in 2013, via an open tender process.
He said the firm was picked by a tender committee which was headed by state secretary Farizan Darus.
"No state executive councillor sat on the tender committee, not even me. In 2014, the tender was monitored, accessed and evaluated by HSSI, a specialist engineering consultancy firm, which was also appointed by open tender," Lim added.
"We wanted to ensure all demands from Zenith were above board, so the consultant firm was appointed to evaluate all claims made by Zenith."
Lim said HSSI is a well-known independent firm, adding that its other works involved the East Coast Rail Link by the federal government in Kuala Lumpur.
For example, he added, Zenith made a claim of RM302 million for its work to obtain EIA approvals for the three major highways.
However, HSSI evaluated the claims and certified that the amount should only be RM208 million.
"We don't have the money and paid the amount by land swap, two pieces of land sized 3.7 acres, with a net development value of RM1,300 psf, which is above market price. These details are stated in the contract," Lim said.
Lim explained the project in detail today, and said he wanted the people to decide "if this is a political witch hunt".
"When all these go through checks and balances at every stage, to evaluate and validate the project, where is the element of corruption?
"We have fulfilled all international standards. We are the only state government in history which has been praised by Transparency International for carrying out open tenders in our projects," he added.- Mkini
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