THE Penang government has hit out at Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Dr Wee Ka Siong for making it seem that a fashion company will build roads in the state’s undersea tunnel and highway project.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the company building the infrastructure in the project was China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).

“He is trying to confuse the people, making it seem like a fashion company is building the roads.

“Wee is a minister who often goes to China. He is suddenly interested in a project that involves a Chinese company. But, he doesn’t want to mention the involvement of the Chinese company.

“He knows well the capability of the company… don’t pretend you (Wee) don’t get it. Don’t go and say a fashion company is building the roads. Let’s not belittle ourselves,” he told a press conference in Komtar today.

CRCC is a state-owned Chinese construction company. In 2014, it was the world’s second-largest construction and engineering firm by revenue.

Lim said CRCC built the Qinghai-Tibet Railway Line, the world’s largest and most elevated railway.

The chief minister’s comments were in response to a statement by Wee, who is also MCA deputy president, that a fashion firm was a shareholder in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd, which had been awarded the contract to build the project’s tunnel and three highways.

Wee had said there were allegations dating back to 2013 that the SPV was under-capitalised and lacked experience, and that to reassure the public, the state’s DAP administration had said two Chinese construction companies were also shareholders and backed by RM4.6 billion in paid-up capital.

“Today, our checks show that the two companies are nowhere to be seen as shareholders of the SPV,” he had said in a statement on Saturday.

He reportedly said in place of the Chinese companies was fashion firm VOIR Holdings.

It was reported last year that VOIR had moved into construction to diversify its business after Consortium Zenith chairman Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli became its major shareholder.

In August last year, there were reports that VOIR had proposed to take up a 13.21% equity interest in Consortium Zenith.

“The shares structure in listed companies is the businesses of private companies. It has nothing to do with the state government,” said Lim, who has repeatedly said the Penang government’s contract is solely with Consortium Zenith.

He said if the same analogy was used, people could also question why the Finance Ministry had bought a 51% stake in The Exchange 106 skyscraper at the Tun Razak Exchange.

“Wee’s question would be similar to this question. Why has the ministry gone into real estate? We know it is not the ministry that’s building the tower. It is not a contractor or a developer.

“It is an investment. The only question is whether the purchase was reasonable and in the interest of the people.”

The Edge today reported that Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani had declined to provide further details on the acquisition.

Lim took another dig at Wee, saying that, perhaps, the MCA leader wanted to divert attention from the Chinese school allocation issue.

The chief minister had, over the weekend, said he was surprised that a Chinese school in Yong Peng, Johor, where Wee was MP, had asked him for donations after hearing that Penang was generous in giving allocations to Chinese schools.

Wee, who is currently Ayer Hitam MP, responded yesterday, saying RM75,000 was given to Yong Peng High School last year.

“Penang has given five independent Chinese schools RM2.5 million. Each school got RM500,000. Which amount is bigger?” said Lim.

Responding to Wee’s remarks on the state’s infrastructure project, Lim also distributed copies of the preliminary agreement for the project, inked between the Penang government and Consortium Zenith in October 2013.

The consortium was known as Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd at the time. Zenith BUCG then comprised Zenith Construction, Beijing Urban Construction Group, Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd.

“That is the contract we signed. But yes, BUCG has since been taken off the consortium over the fatal accident in Kuala Lumpur in 2016,” said Lim.

In September 2016, BUCG was taken off the Penang tunnel and highway project after the Chinese firm was found to be responsible for an incident in Jalan Raja Chulan, where a woman was killed after a crane hook at a construction site fell on her car.

However, the Beijing-based CRCC’s agreement, which was also inked in October 2013 to provide assistance and expertise in the Penang project, as per its deal with Zenith BUCG and Zenith Construction, still stands.

“What is the issue when everything was done via open tender? The contract was also awarded by the tender board, chaired by the state secretary, as required by law. The chief minister and state excos were not involved,” said Lim.

“They are out to ruin the Penang government’s reputation. Barisan Nasional wants to destroy the project, which aims to alleviate the state’s traffic congestion problem.

“We will defend this project. We’ll see how far they can take their sabotage plan. Let the people decide.”

The project was mooted from as early as 2011. BUCG, at the time, had expressed an interest in utilising its expertise to make it a reality.

In April that year, a memorandum of understanding was inked between BUCG chairman Liu Longhua and Lim, witnessed by Prime Minister Najib Razak and his then Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, in Putrajaya.

But, the project came under attack, including from BN, in the run-up to the 13th general election in 2013.

Now, with GE14 set to be called in the coming months, the project’s agreement and land-swap payment deals are under Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigation once more.

Since last week, MACC has carried out raids, interviewed witnesses and seized documents from the state government and various parties with links to the project.

Two directors, from Consortium Zenith and property developer Ewein-Zenith Sdn Bhd, have been remanded to facilitate investigations.

Consortium Zenith and Ewein Land have a joint venture, Ewein-Zenith, that plans to develop land in Bandar Tanjong Pinang.

The land is a land-swap payment to Consortium Zenith for its work on the tunnel and highway project. Ewein is not directly involved in the infrastructure project.

The state government had said last week that it paid Consortium Zenith RM208 million, via land swap, for having completed the environmental impact assessment for the three highways in the project.

The state had said no payment had been made for the tunnel, whose feasibility study is 92% completed. – January 15, 2018.