PENANG will continue the RM6.3 billion highway and undersea tunnel projects despite obstacles as it is a key pledge by Pakatan Harapan at the last general election, the state chief minister said.

Chow Kon Yeow told The Malaysian Insight the massive projects, which connects Penang Island with the mainland and aims to ease traffic congestion on the island, were what the people wanted.

“We promised the people in the last elections that we will push for the projects, which gave them choices.

“If they support the continued development of Penang, then they should support us.

“On the other hand, if they believe that the projects have elements of corruption or if they are used to deceive the people, then they should not support us,” Chow said.

Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng was earlier this month charged with soliciting a bribe from Zenith Consortium Sdn Bhd, the company awarded the contract to undertake the controversial project.

Lim, who is DAP secretary general, allegedly asked for 10% of the potential profits from the completed project and in return, would help Zenith’s Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli to land the mega project.

Lim pleaded not guilty and described the charge as “political revenge”.

Chow told The Malaysian Insight that the highway and undersea projects have been nine years in the making and it has been going back and forth.

From the bidding process to consultation fees and two plots of land paid to the developer before the project had even started, Chow said the project has been a hot political topic for years and the state government has a duty to explain the project to the public transparently.

Among the issues often highlighted were the land payments before a study on the project had even been completed to Zenith Consortium, which had been awarded the contract to construct the undersea tunnel and its three main access routes at RM851 million.

Chow said construction of the first of the three routes is underway but had encountered many technical issues, including having to relocate the grave of a VIP’s wife which the state government had to pay millions of ringgit in compensation.

“The contractor is also being constantly attacked, causing the banks to lose confidence and deny loans.

“Both the contractor and the state government are facing many difficulties. The company also needs time for its restructuring, and the state government will give it space to reorganise its funds and find new investors,” he said.

If the state government finds that the contractor is unable to carry out the job, then the state government can cancel the contract, he said.

“The contract is to protect the state’s interests. If the contractor is facing difficulties such as the need to restructure and find new investors, we can give them time to sort it out, then we can look into the company and see if they are capable of completing the contract.”

The contractor is currently preparing a feasibility report, which is scheduled to be submitted to the state government by the end of the year.

Before the feasibility report is accepted and the project approved, the state will not be paying the contractor any fees.

Pushing for equal development

Chow had previously said the project will link the economies on Penang island to the mainland, which will bring unlimited development potential.

However, feedback from Penangites has indicated a perception that the island is inhabited by the rich even though the state government is doing its best to ensure equal development.

He said the perception of lopsided development in favour of the island is due to the lack of understanding of Seberang Perai’s development potential and space constraints.

Chow said the state government had in fact shifted its development focus to Batu Kawan in Seberang Perai for the past five to 10 years.

“I know there are criticisms and questions against Penang’s reclamation project. This is because any property has three major requirements, which is location, location and location.

“You cannot just simply choose a piece of land to develop, you need to look at the location and the movement of goods, which is why the state government is looking for balanced development, not just in terms of regional development, but also in terms of racial demographics and wealth,” the chief minister said.

Chow also said he does not understand criticisms of the high price of houses in Penang and that supposedly only rich people can afford property on the island.

“The state government has been consistently pushing for development of mid-priced houses and the hottest properties in the market right now are all affordable homes.”

Additionally, the state government has mandated that any development undertaken must have 30% low-cost housing to meet the people’s needs.

Chow, however, said some things are out of the state government’s control, such as when housing loans get rejected.

Chow had announced after 100 days in office the motto of “PENANG 2030: A Family-focused Green and Smart State to Inspire the Nation”.

It has four main focus areas, which is improving living environment and quality of life, improving the economy and increasing household income, empowering the people and increasing social participation, and lastly, investing in infrastructure and public facilities. – August 23, 2020.