Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng exposes another land scam even as the debate draw near

I don't know, I just feel that the current 'hero' amongst many Penangites is getting really annoying.


Yes, I am referring to the Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He may be preaching a lot of CAT (competency, accountability and transparency) but he should just shut up and start doing what he was elected to do.

Now that he and his predecessor have agreed to go at each other on live TV, shouldn't he just concentrate on running the state or even helping Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his Permatang Pauh by-election instead of continuing with this childish quibble with Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon?

They will be engaging on a live debate on Wednesday which will be shown on live TV at 8pm. The title is supposed to be on the truth of land scams in Penang. So, why the heck is Guan Eng revealing yet another scam just mere days before the debate?

Here's his most recent revelation:

Former Penang Chief Minister Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon should explain why when he was the Chairman of PDC, he gave special favours to a private company, Business Focus Sdn Bhd (BFSB), that resulted in PDC losing at least RM 9 million without being able to get its land back. PDC sold shares in PSC to BFSB by an agreement dated 27th April 1992 for the price of RM29 million, which included land in Pulau Jerejak.

Instead of full payment being given over a normal period, BFSB were given until 6 years till 31 May 2008 to pay the RM 29 million. Unfortunately, BFSB defaulted on the final RM 9 million payment and to date has still not paid up this sum. BFSB has since being wound up. Most disturbing is that BFSB has now being sold and the land transferred to another company.

The whole transaction reveals not only the losses to PDC of at least RM 9 million but also irregularities, failure to follow basic financial and management procedures as well as lack of compliance with legal documentation to protect the interests of PDC. The failure of Koh and the top management of PDC to follow up and protect the interests of PDC is most disturbing and a glaring failure to perform their statutory duties as Chairman and Board members in a competent and professional manner.

The public has lost at least RM 9 million over the sale of PSC and the land in Pulau Jerejak and Koh should give a full explanation in the public interests to uphold accountability and transparency. Worse a preliminary investigation revealed that BFSB enjoyed special favours not given to other companies, and Koh is responsible to explain how the public benefited and why he gave such preferential treatment.

So, my question to the honorable Chief Minister is this. Why the hurry? Why not reveal all your cards on the debate itself? If you are trying to keep KTK on his toes and able to reply to all your questions, why stop here?

Why not just give him all the whole list of land scams instead of doing it one at a time every few days? Are you merely demanding attention or really doing this for Penang?

KTK's responses to Guan Eng so far also left much to be desired. This two really brings to mind two quibbling children who are two busy calling each other names to look at the big picture.

So, do keep your Wednesday evening open and free to watch them quibble in real life. Perhaps it would be even more interesting than in words read in the news.

I just hope that they really thrash it all out and get it over and done with.