IN a tit-for-tat response to Penang Umno’s claims his administration was trying to hide facts about land sales, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said it was Barisan Nasional that “sacrificed” state land at the people’s expense.

“We are not hiding facts. You did. How much land was sacrificed at the expense of the people when you (BN) were in government?” he told a press conference today.

Lim said BN had allowed the Seri Tanjong Pinang (STP) project to be reclaimed at RM1 per sq ft – a deal which greatly benefitted the developer.

“During BN’s time, the state was to get 27.5 hectare of the reclaimed land from the developer, E & O.

“The price was too low. After we took over in 2008, we renegotiated and got 55 hectare. Close to 20 hectare will be used to develop a public park for the people.

“If the deal under BN was so good, how did we get a better deal?” he said.

Lim was responding to statements by Penang Umno chief Zainal Abidin Osman who has been criticising the Pakatan Harapan government over various issues following the 2016 Auditor-General’s Report on Penang.

On Sunday, Zainal accused Lim of spinning “fictional stories” the state only sold 42.9 hectare of land since taking over in 2008 but made much higher returns compared to the BN administration.

He said Lim had continued to hide facts from the people and made wrong comparisons between selling existing land for development and giving rights to reclaim the sea.

Citing reclamation projects in STP in Tanjung Tokong, the Jelutong Expressway (now Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway), and the Bagan Ajam coast in Butterworth that were approved during BN’s time, the Umno leader said the returns were not only in cash.

The state, he said, benefitted from the building of low- and low-medium cost homes, highways, and land for the expansion of the Northern Butterworth Container Terminal in Bagan Ajam.

Zainal also said through the STP reclamation, the Penang government obtained 44.5 hectare of reclaimed land, and the same land was being used by the administration to pay off the contractor undertaking the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and three major highway projects.

“The returns from the STP project is more than RM6.3 billion,” he said.

Lim also took the Umno man to task for saying the Penang government had not built homes for the Bumiputera, despite having a Bumiputera Housing Trust Fund that collected contributions from developers in lieu of bumiputera housing units.

Citing the AG’s Report, Zainal said yesterday the fund had RM110.93 million at the end of 2016, a RM15.31 million increase from 2015.

Only RM4.64 million, he said, was spent by the end of 2016 on a 20% payment to buy 320 low-medium cost homes in the state’s affordable housing project called The Rise at SP Chelliah in George Town.

Lim said the state spent RM44 million on the SP Chelliah homes, and another RM7.9 million each on two mainland villages – Kampung Tok Suboh in Bukit Mertajam and Kampung Kepala Gajah in Sungai Bakap.

“There is RM40.2 million left in the trust fund. We use money from the fund on Bumiputera units unsold by the developers,” he said.

State housing exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said the units bought by the state using the fund would be sold to eligible Bumiputera buyers at a subsidised price.

Jagdeep also said Zainal’s claim Penang did not care about Bumiputera housing was not true.

He said using the same housing quota system started by BN, the Penang government set aside 50% low-cost homes (priced at RM42,000) and 30% low-medium cost homes (priced at RM72,500) for Bumiputera buyers.

“From 2008 until this year, there were 24,227 low- and low-medium cost homes built in Penang. Of that, 9,920 units had been offered to Bumiputera buyers.

“BN during its time only built over 5,000 units and only 2,000-plus were offered to Bumiputera buyers,” he said.

Jagdeep also said the state government had 17,686 affordable housing units in the pipeline.

“Where are the PR1MA homes BN had promised to build in Penang? Zainal had been saying they are coming up.

“But the state and the local councils have no records the units are being built,” he said.

He said there were over 3,000 PR1MA homes in two projects in Kampung Kastam, Bukit Gelugor, and Batu Ferringhi that had already been approved, but work had not started.

Lim said Zainal was raising questions and issues against the Penang government to show he was working with the Umno general assembly happening now. – December 5, 2017.