Tan Sri Nor Mohamad Yakcop is the one doing things backwards when he refused to come clean on his role in causing Bank Negara foreign exchange losses

The Penang state government is surprised at the allegations made by Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop that the state government were doing things backwards by deciding first and getting feedback afterwards on the RM6.3 billion projects of 3 major highways and a 7.2 km under seabed tunnel from Persiaran Gurney-Bagan Ajam, Butterworth. In fact Tan Sri Nor is the person doing things backwards when he refused to come clean on his role in the scandal of causing Bank Negara foreign exchange losses of RM 15.8 billion in 1992-93 before he was appointed as 2nd Finance Minister in 2004.

The Penang state government had started public consultations before the open tender was called in 2011 and continued such engagement with all sectors of civil society and the public right up to the award of the tender in February this year. The public still has the opportunity to give inputs as the contract will only be formalized after extensive deliberations expected to take months. Such an intensive public engagement is unprecedented as it has never been done by the Federal government, which awards projects in an opaque and unaccountable manner by negotiated tender.

In contrast, the Penang state government awarded the contract based on an open competitive tender exercise. Evaluation and recommendation was made by 2 separate committees headed respectively by the State Secretary Dato Farizan bin Darus and State Financial Officer Dato Mokhtar bin Mohd Jait. The Chief Minister was neither a member nor involved in the deliberations of these 2 committees.

Where Is The Monorail Promised Since 2006 And 200 Extra Rapid Penang Buses Promised Since 2010?

The federal government controls public transport. Tan Sri Nor should explain why both BN’s promise to build the monorail since 2006 and Prime Minister Dato Seri Najib Tun Razak’s promise of 200 extra buses made in 2010 for Rapid Penang have still not been fulfilled. Instead the monorail promise has been recycled again by BN for the coming general elections.

Presently RapidPenang has 350 buses of which only 200 buses are on the road as the remaining 150 buses are under repairs. Tan Sri Nor should also explain the reasons behind the refusal of the Federal government to accept a yearly payment of RM10 million in exchange for Rapid Penang buses giving free bus rides during peak hours throughout Penang state.

Clearly this sabotage on public transportation by the Federal government is intended to choke Penang to death with traffic congestion. As the state government refuses to do nothing and wait to die, this RM6.3 billion road infrastructure project is planned to help alleviate traffic congestion, improve connectivity and enhance business efficiency.

No Adverse Impact On The Environment Or Penang Port Operations.

The proposed under seabed tunnel is only one of the 4 highway projects. It must fulfill Detailed Environment Impact Assessment(DEIA) requirements or else the project would simply not proceed. Penang Port Sdn Bhd should not be concerned about the under seabed tunnel affecting their port operations as the tunnel would be at least 15 meters below the seabed which would mean at least 30 meters from the sea-level.

For this reason a tunnel is more environmentally-friendly than a bridge to marine life. At that depth of 30 meters below sea-level, there is more than enough room for even bigger vessels to dock in Penang. There are no immediate concern as the tunnel would be expected to be completed only by 2025 and work can only begin in 5 years time.

Tan Sri Nor should spend more time answering the question on whether the present management of PPSB would be running Penang Port as Penang Port has already been privatized to companies owned by Tan Sri Syed Mohkhar Al-Bokhary. The fate of Penang Port is uncertain on whether Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar would downgrade it into a feeder port or whether it can be transformed into an international port.

Finally BN continues to harp on one simple and ordinary typo error made in a state government statement on 13 September 2011 which stated that the total projected cost of the 4 highway projects is RM4.08 billion, much less than the RM6.3 billion awarded by open competitive tender. This typo error should read RM8.08 billion, not RM4.08 billion. If out of 10 statements made, all 9 mentioned RM8 billion whilst only one mentioned RM4 billion because of the typo error, why choose the single statement that mentioned RM4 billion as correct but not the 9 statements that mentioned RM8 billion?

Being obsessed with simple and ordinary typo errors is so ridiculous that both Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Lim Siang Chai ignored the typo error and referred to the cost of the projects as RM8 billion in remarks to the press published on 17 November 2011 and 27 November 2011 respectively.

In fact even today’s New Straits Times report of “DAP doing things backwards” contained the following typo error, “BN Youth had on Monday said that the figure given by the state government in 2001 for the four projects was RM4.08 billion. Lim, however, put the figure at RM6.3 billion after the state government reduced it from RM8 billion.”

Clearly the year should read 2011 and not 2001, a clear but simple and ordinary typo error by New Straits Times. Why is BN Penang not behaving consistently in issuing the same condemnation on New Straits Times they now make on the Penang state government? It is such hypocrisy and double-standards by BN that caused the people of Penang to totally reject BN at the 2008 general elections.

Lim Guan Eng Penang Chief Minister