Will Guan Eng be ‘buried’ undersea by the MACC?

TTF: The time of reckoning has finally come (see news item below).

After spending years lying to the people, dodging questions and intimidating truth seekers, Lim Guan Eng may finally face the brunt of law over irregularities pertaining the Penang state multibillion ringgit undersea tunnel project.

Thanks to the MACC, Penangites may soon discover how the cost to build the 12km Teluk Bahang – Tanjung Bungah paired road suddenly jumped from the RM580 million Guan Eng announced in September 2011 to a ridiculous RM1.11 billion for absolutely no rhyme or reason. That’s RM92.5 million per km stretch, in a state that claims to be better managed than any other in Malaysia.

Perhaps Nurul Izzah, who told a rally on the 17th of July that Pakatan Harapan could do a better job than Barisan Nasional in providing services to the masses, will also discover how the Guan Eng led Pakatan administration paid an excessive RM220 million in consultancy fees to an undercapitalised Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) company for mere pieces of paper.

Yes, it is high time Nurul was made aware that the SPV company was awarded the tunnel project just nine months after its establishment. As if that weren’t bad enough, the company was announced winner of the project via a Request for Proposal by Guan Eng that did not even follow established guidelines!

And this is what I wrote on the 18th of July 2017:

On the 24^th of June 2017, Chow, who chairs the Penang state Local Government Committee, claimed that the fee involved was only RM177.5mil, inclusive of payments for the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA).

However, a month earlier (on the 22^nd of June 2017), Hock Seng told a state legislative assembly sitting that a total of RM220mil had been paid exclusive of the DEIA, meaning, the state government issued payments in excess of what Chow claimed, none of which related to the DEIA.

See the issue?

The fact that two EXCOs gave conflicting figures goes to show just how badly the Guan Eng administration is run. Now, if the EXCOs themselves are not sure, how can members of the general public be? Surely it’d be justified for them to seek clarification from the SPV or the Chief Minister, yes?

Not according to Guan Eng, no.

When Gerakan attempted to do just that, the SPV served the party with a legal notice “for asking too many questions.” When Guan Eng himself was asked how much the state paid for feasibility studies, he went into his traditional ‘evasive mode’ and called the ruling coalition “traditional saboteurs.”

Seriously, we’re sick and tired of you and your lies, Guan Eng. I think you’re about to be buried undersea!

GEORGE TOWN: A team of Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) officers raided the offices of several government agencies in Komtar in relation to an investigations into the state’s RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project early today.

An officer from MACC Putrajaya confirmed that the team visited some offices in Penang to gather information for its investigations into the undersea tunnel project.

“We raided the offices and we only took a few documents to assist with the investigations.”

It is learnt that the team started making the rounds this morning and visited the Public Works Department, the Land and Mines Department in Komtar and a construction firm’s offices here.

MACC Deputy Chief Commissioner (Operations) Datuk Seri Azam Baki told Berita Harian that the team seized some documents in the raids to the offices this morning to get more information on the undersea tunnel project.

He was quoted as saying that the raids were based on new evidence submitted to the anti-graft agency recently.

Last Saturday, Parti Cinta Malaysia lodged a second report alleging new evidence on the undersea tunnel project to MACC in Putrajaya.

The controversial 7.2km undersea tunnel, which was awarded to Consortium Zenith, was proposed to connect Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth as part of the state’s Penang Transport Master Plan to ease traffic congestion in the state.

The feasibility studies for the tunnel were delayed for almost two years and last October, Consortium Zenith claimed there was no hurry to complete the studies as the project is only expected to start in 2023.

Source: The Malay Mail Online