The sinking of an old ferry moored at Penang's Bagan Dalam dockyard did not happen during Pakatan Harapan's watch, said DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng.
Speaking to Malaysiakini, the former finance minister said while it was true that the ferry was sent to the dock on Nov 27, 2019, as of Feb 24 last year - the day former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's cabinet was dissolved - the vessel had not sunk.
"At the time, I was not informed that the ferry had been towed to the dockyard... The fact is, the ferry did not sink then, unlike now.
"I was never informed by the Penang Port Commission that they had problems sourcing spare parts from the Netherlands due to financial constraints," Lim said.
This was in response to Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong who suggested that Lim was to blame for the sinking of the ferry.
Wee said that the ferry was owned by Prasarana Malaysia Bhd, which in turn was owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated. Hence, the MCA president argued that it was the fault of the previous government for not sourcing parts from the Netherlands.
"Who was the finance minister on Nov 27, 2019?" asked Wee, in a Facebook post on June 6.
Lim pointed out that as then finance minister, he had allocated RM30 million to the Penang Port Commission and the funds could have been used for repairs.
However, the Bagan MP claimed that Wee had revoked this policy by terminating the Penang-Butterworth ferry service on Dec 31 last year.
Lim said that even if procuring spare parts took time, Wee should explain why the Perikatan Nasional administration could not do so after being in government for 18 months.
The ferry in question is known as the Pulau Pinang. The Penang Port Commission had intended to sell the ferry to those with the intention of turning it into a floating museum. - Mkini
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