THE Finance Ministry has denied receiving proposals for development of two airports on mainland Penang, with Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng adding that the Finance and Transport ministries, along with the state governments of Penang and Kedah had received no such communication over the proposed development, which was reported by The Star today.

“To date, The Star report has only sowed confusion among the communications and transport industry because they (the paper) failed to disclose who had attended the briefing or accepted the recommendations,” he said in a statement today.

“So far, Transport Minister Anthony Loke and Kedah Menteri Besar Mukhriz Mahathir have told me that they know nothing about the two so-called new airport proposals,” he said.

Lim said funds were secured in Budget 2019 to expand Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas, but nothing else.

Earlier today, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and the Transport Ministry said they were unaware of the proposals.

Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd (MAHB), when contacted by The Malaysian Insight, said that all proposals for airport developments were channelled to the government.

The Star today reported that two companies had proposed building a new airport at two locations in south Seberang Prai, Penang.

It said one firm had submitted its plan for an airport to Putrajaya, while the other would soon do the same.

One of the companies proposed acquiring thousands of hectares of rice fields for “North Malaysia International Airport”, while the other wished to name its facility the “Northern Region International Airport”.

Lim, who was the former chief minister of Penang, said approval from the state government was critical when it came to land issues.

The report, quoting sources, noted that one developer did not ask for a sen to build its airport, and had offered to build it in exchange for the land on which Penang International Airport sits.

Lim also took the English daily to task for reporting baseless speculation.

Calling the front page report sensational, he said the news outlet had “blared out” that the two new airport proposals would replace the existing transport hub and threatened the proposed Kulim International Airport.

“Unless the MCA-owned The Star can prove that they practice responsible journalism by showing evidence, and that it is not a figment of their imagination that the federal government had considered the proposals, they are on a fishing expedition not worthy of professional journalism.

“Such baseless speculation is also grossly unfair by giving the negative impression that the federal government is riding roughshod over the state governments or the rakyat by considering such a massive project,” he said.

Lim added that, according to Budget 2019, the present Penang airport expansion would take place in two phases, increasing the capacity of the airport from 6.5 million passengers per annum to 16 million passengers.

Meanwhile, Putrajaya was awaiting proposals from private entities for the Kulim International Airport project, which will be constructed through a private financing initiative and not cost the taxpayer anything, he said. – June 10, 2019.