Come clean on Penang tunnel ‘agreement’ with China firm, Wee asks CM

MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong has urged Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to “come clean” on the “acknowledgement of commitment” signed between the Penang government and a Chinese firm to build the contentious undersea tunnel in the state.

Last week, Lim (photo) had said that the document was signed between the state government and the eijing-based China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd (CRCC), via its branch in Malaysia, to complete the tunnel project by 2027.

In a video press conference on the tunnel project posted today, Wee said that Lim was misrepresenting the document as a legally binding agreement.

"If the Acknowledgement of Commitment is a legally binding agreement, where is the stamping of the document as required for any agreement?"

"Which is the Court of Arbitration to arbitrate the dispute?"

"How can an agreement be signed if the undersea tunnel project and three major roads have not been finalised or approved by the related authorities, including the Environment Department on the environmental impact assessment?" he asked.

The EIA reports for the three major roads have received the department’s approval, while the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel is currently 92 percent completed.

CRCC is the main contractor for engineering procurement construction for Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd, the special purpose vehicle for the building of the tunnel and three major roads linking Penang island to Butterworth.

The acknowledgement of commitment document states that CRCC will provide full commitment and render all assistance and expertise towards the project, as per their arrangement with Zenith.

However, Wee said that such a document cannot be signed, since it cannot be equated to a stamped agreement, adding that it is only a letter of support or a memorandum of understanding at best, and not an agreement per se.

The minister also noted that according to the Companies Commission of Malaysia, neither CRCC nor Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) are represented in the Consortium Zenith Construction SPV.

Currently, the consortium is made up of Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd, Juteras Sdn Bhd, Kenanga Nominees (Tempatan) Sdn Bhd, and Vertice Berhad (former known as Voir Holdings Berhad).

The Beijing Urban Construction Group had earlier dropped out due to a fatal crane accident in Kuala Lumpur.

"There is a significant difference between the SPV and the subsequent contractor, which obtains the construction job from the SPV.

"The state government can only hold the SPV liable for any failure in completing the three major roads and undersea tunnel project,” Wee explained.

"In other words, the state government does not have a contractual nexus with the said contractor, but only with the SPV.

"If the SPV fail to pay the contractor, the contractor can just abandon the job with no obligations to complete," he added.

The undersea tunnel is subject of a major probe by the MACC, which has raided and questioned 71 individuals connected to the RM6.3 billion project.

Two high-ranking executives of two private companies were detained, remanded for 11 days and released on Jan 19 in relation to the commission’s investigation.

Lim has insisted that the project was above board, as it went through an open tender process, which was headed by state secretary Farizan Darus. -Mkini

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