In the spotlight: (From left) Chow, Tan and his wife Puan Sri May Tan walking out from the court room at the Penang High Court. — ZHAFARAN NASIB/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: As chief executive of the state, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said he is committed to Penang’s principles of CAT (competent, accountable and transparent) in all dealings.
Chow told the High Court here that this was the reason why he had said a proposal to build a workers’ dormitory on the grounds of the Silver Jubilee Home for the Aged in Sungai Dua must go through due process, including having legal representation for the home.
Chow, who is chairman of the home’s board of trustees by virtue of being Chief Minister, was responding to a question by Datuk K. Kirubakaran, who is representing the home’s former trustee Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping.
Tan had sued Chow over alleged defamatory remarks related to the former’s resignation from the home in December last year.
Chow, in a press conference, had claimed that the workers’ hostel would be built on the land without an open tender.
He had also said the home was not represented by any registered legal firms in its contract with a company identified as Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd (MESB), which was later replaced by another company, Winbond Holdings Bhd.Cross-examining Chow yesterday, Kirubakaran asked whether he had said there was a lack of CAT principles in the project.
Chow replied that an open tender was a key component of CAT, as well as project delivery according to schedule and accountability.Chow agreed with Kirubakaran that his objection to the project was because of a lack of an open tender and a need for separate legal representation to protect the home’s interest.
Citing the Penang Development Corporation’s (PDC) land deal with Umech Land Sdn Bhd for the proposed development of Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 (BKIP2) on the mainland, Kirubakaran then asked Chow whether the land deal was a direct negotiation.To this, Chow, who is also PDC chairman, said a direct negotiation could be made in special instances, like the BKIP2.
He said that despite much publicity over the land sale, only one company came forward.
Kirubakaran asked Chow why the home needed separate legal representation in the workers’ hostel project as it already had its trustee, Bernard Kok, acting as its legal adviser.
Chow replied: “There is a difference between a legal adviser and a legal firm.”
To another question on why Chow did not raise the issue during a meeting on April 19, 2022, Chow said he would raise it at any instance if something seemed amiss.
“It does not mean if I did not raise it earlier, I cannot raise it later on,” said Chow, who was represented by Cheah Eng Soon.
During Tan’s cross-examination earlier in the morning, Cheah told Tan that Chow’s public remarks were accurate and non-defamatory, but Tan disagreed.
Cheah asked Tan if it was reasonable for Chow – as the home’s chairman – to be concerned and to raise issues of public interest. Tan disagreed.
Cheah then asked Tan if he held press conferences on Dec 1, and Dec 5, 2023, in bad faith to purposely escalate the issue and humiliate Chow.
Tan disagreed with that, too.
The trial came to a close yesterday, with Justice Datuk Quay Chew Soon setting the date for a decision on Nov 26.
