PENANG Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said his MCA critic Dr Wee Ka Siong was facing pressure from Umno over Barisan Nasional’s seats tussle ahead of the general election.

Responding to Wee’s almost daily attacks against him and the Penang undersea tunnel and highways project, Lim today said Umno’s pressure had pushed him “over the edge”, leading Wee to claim the RM6.3 billion project cost RM20.54 billion.

“I know that Wee is under pressure from Umno (that is) forcing MCA to surrender the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat, and unable to force Alor Gajah BN to accept the prime minister’s chosen candidate and political secretary Wong Nai Chee to replace the incumbent Koh Nai Kwong,” he said in a statement today.

The DAP secretary-general also dug into the tussle for the Kuantan parliamentary seat, which MCA “loaned” to Umno in the 2013 general election. The seat was won by PKR, but the BN leadership has yet give it back to MCA to contest in the next general election.

“Wee is also humiliated that I have refused to debate him because he is not No. 1 in MCA but only No. 2.

“However this Umno pressure and personal humiliation should not have pushed Wee over the edge to say that the (Penang undersea tunnel and highways) project cost RM20.54 billion.

“Wee again ignores the fact that this project was conducted by open tender at a price of RM6.3 billion,” Lim said.

He was responding to Wee’s claim that Penang residents would suffer a RM20.54 billion financial loss due to the project.

Wee, in a video post on his Facebook page yesterday, said the project cost would be fully funded by the Penang government while the special purpose vehicle (SPV) in charge of the project was given a 30-year concession.

He also said that the people would bear the various costs to build the tunnel and three highways, which would add up to RM20.54 billion.

Among the losses, Wee said, would come from the rising value of land paid to the project contractor by the state government for the project, and RM9 billion in infrastructure costs for projects including the RM7.5 billion Pan Island Link, Gurney Wharf and the planned RM400 million eight-lane Persiaran Gurney road, which would mainly benefit a private development by the SPV.

Lim said it was “mad” to say the project would cost RM20.54 billion when the contract signed was for RM6.3 billion.

“It is dishonest of Wee to talk about (the SPV, Consortium) Zenith (Construction Sdn Bhd) benefitting from rising land values, but not about Zenith having to pay for rising construction costs in 10 years’ time.

“It is also dishonest for Wee to add in other road works, merely to make up the numbers for his fictitious RM20.54 billion, when these other roads such as the Pan Island Link has no bearing nor connection to this project.

“It does not make sense. There is no RM20.54 billion cost to Penang. The state government only signed for RM6.3 billion,” he said. – March 16, 2018.