Business group takes on Penang CM

IT is quite rare for a body like the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) to take an adversarial stance against the state government.

But that was what happened at a hard-hitting press conference earlier this week when PCCC president Datuk Seri Hong Yeam Wah demanded that the Chief Minister explain the controversial land deal between the state government and a private company, Umech Construction Sdn Bhd.

It was quite a fierce press conference that saw the PCCC firing a string of questions over the sale of 226.2ha (558.96 acres) of state land for an industrial project in Seberang Prai.

The target was Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and reporters covering the event were amused to see the PCCC acting like an “opposition party”.

The questions ranged from transparency issues to queries over the sale price and the fact that it was done by direct negotiation rather than open tender.

They asked why, shortly after the land was sold to Umech Construction at RM25.63 per square foot (psf), two Penang property brokers were engaged to resell parcels of the same land at RM80 psf.

The PCCC also took out full-page advertorials in two popular Penang Chinese newspapers to highlight the letters it had written to the Chief Minister and to reproduce news reports on the land deal.

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“It looks like a full-frontal attack on the Chief Minister," said former politician Jeff Ooi, now a columnist with Sin Chew Daily.

"Before this, the land deal was mainly of interest to the business sector but with the explosive press conference and advertorials, it seems like these guys have been tracking the issue for months.

“They are pursuing it in a big way. It is a serious issue which the state government needs to explain and justify."

But it was the presence of one of Penang’s most famous tycoons, Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping, at the press event that raised eyebrows among the Penang chattering class.

Tan, a developer, is the lifelong advisor to PCCC and known to be close to former chief minister Lim Guan Eng.

Tan had his share of tough questions for Chow to answer and even called for a revamp of the top management of the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) which represented the state government in the transaction.

Chinese social media has been buzzing with cynical and sarcastic commentary about the issue largely because of the persons making the allegations and also because of who they believe is actually behind the drama.

The chattering class immediately perceived it as yet another attempt to undermine and bring down Chow.

Meanwhile, those in the media business have described the attack as a “repeat of a 20-year tactic” against a sitting chief minister.

Back then, Tan had also resorted to full-page advertisements criticising then chief minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon over an infrastructure project. The attacks damaged Koh’s image and were said to have contributed to his eventual downfall.

Tan is one of the most influential business personalities in Penang and was known to have the ears of former chief minister Tun Lim Chong Eu.

An avid tennis player in his younger days, he is a youthful-looking 79-year-old who has managed to stay relevant because he is able to read where the wind is blowing.

There are endless whispers about his business dealings and he has been variously described as a deal-maker, power-broker and even king-maker after Tan, an honorary advisor to the Han Chiang High School board, allowed the use of the school field for DAP’s finale rally in the 2008 general election.

DAP acknowledged this when its secretary-general Anthony Loke donated RM1mil to the elite school a few months ago.

Regardless of the politics or perceived motives, Tan and PCCC have raised some highly pertinent questions about the land transaction that needs clarification for the sake of transparency and good governance.

But public reaction has been quite muted. It is possible Penangites view it as the way business is conducted. Besides, as some have pointed out, direct negotiations for big projects are hardly new in the state government.

As a retired doctor in Penang said: “List out the major projects or sale of prime land by the state government that were done by open tender.”

People are simply worn out by the endless politicking, and attempts to destabilise the government will not go down well with the average Penangite.

Moreover, some have asked why the accusers have not taken their suspicions of implied wrongdoing to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Chow, according to the Chinese media circle, is a devoted Christian.

Those supportive of the Chief Minister have advised him not to react to the provocation. One of them told him to “sit quietly, no need to quarrel”.

Chow, on his part, has replied to PCCC’s queries with a seven-page letter.

But it is Penang voters to whom he owes a convincing explanation if he does not want to be yet another victim of this “20-year-old tactic”.