THE Penang government today again expressed concern that the undersea tunnel and three highways project would be sabotaged by its political rivals.

This comes after Prime Minister Najib Razak’s recent remarks that the tunnel linking the Butterworth and Persiaran Gurney in George Town was unnecessary and a waste of public funds.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the RM6.3-billion infrastructure project was being played up as a controversy ahead of the 14th general election, especially by Barisan Nasional’s predominantly Chinese component parties MCA and Gerakan.

“We are worried with the prime minister’s interference in the project, which is now a controversy played up by MCA and Gerakan with the election coming.

“He said the project is a ‘monster scandal’, unnecessary and a waste. He forgot he was there when the state government inked the memorandum of understanding with the Chinese firm,” he said.

“He didn’t call it a ‘monster scandal’ then. This is after MCA and Gerakan worked to sabotage the project, raising fake issues, slander and lies.

“When I expose the lies, they won’t explain themselves. They just hop on to the next lie.”

Lim, training his guns on MCA and Gerakan, said the two parties had been unable to tarnish his reputation and that of the Pakatan Harapan-led Penang government, so they had their BN chief Najib join in the attack.

Yesterday, Lim said Najib had witnessed the MoU signing between the Penang government and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) for the tunnel project in Putrajaya on April 28, 2011.

The then Chinese prime minister Wen Jiabao was also present at the ceremony. Lim has a framed photograph of all of them, including BUCG chairman Liu Longhua, taken at the event.

“I am willing write to Najib to seek an appointment to explain the project to him in person. I can even give him the photo as a gift to remind him of his presence at the MoU signing.

“All of a sudden, this has become a ‘monster scandal’. Does this now mean the prime minister was wrong? Was the Chinese prime minister also in the wrong?

“Maybe Najib forgot. Maybe he has also forgotten the many other scandals involving 1MDB and Felda under his administration,” Lim said.

The DAP secretary-general, who has led Penang for two terms, also brought up the federal government’s East Coast Rail Link project, which will be built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC).

“Then what is the ECRL, a RM55 billion project awarded without an open tender? How many times is ECRL a monster, I don’t know.  A ‘maha raksasa’ (great monster) scandal?”

Many mega infrastructure projects in Malaysia involve huge Chinese firms, such as BUCG that was part of the original consortium that won the open tender to undertake the project in 2013.

BUCG left the consortium in 2016 after a fatal accident at one of its construction sites in Kuala Lumpur.

Another Chinese giant – China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) – still remains in the project as the consultant and main builder.

Lim slammed MCA president Liow Tiong Lai today for “putting pressure” on CRCC.

Last week, Liow, who is Transport Minister, issued a statement on his meeting with CRCC in Beijing and what he had learned from the company on its role in the Penang project.

Lim said Penang would hold CRCC to its contract in the tunnel and highways project.

“CRCC has interest to build the (federal) high speed rail project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

“Talking like this gives the impression that they may use it as a weapon to make CRCC come to some decision on its contract with the Penang government.

“We want to stress here that we will hold CRCC to the contract it had signed with us to be the main builder of the project, whether there is any pressure from MCA or BN to sabotage it.”

Lim also slammed Liow’s deputy Dr Wee Ka Siong, whom he accused of lying and making false allegations regarding the project.

Wee had previously made remarks about alleged graft in the project, that the CRCC agreement with the state was not stamped, and that a fashion company was building the project.

Lim had been incensed that Wee had neglected to explain himself after the former exposed his erroneous remarks.

Lim said the tunnel and highways project, which was currently under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), had become a “political witch hunt and a malicious conspiracy to damage the Penang government’s good name”.

“In the end, it will be the loss of the Penang people, who will have to continue suffering the traffic problem.” – February 11, 2018.