KUALA LUMPUR – The spat between Transport Minister Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong and former finance minister Lim Guan Eng worsens since the photos of a sinking ferry in the Sg Prai dockyard emerged.
Lim said that he was not informed that the ferry named Pulau Pinang was taken to the Bagan Dalam shipyard on November 27, 2019 but it was not in such a state as it is now.
“I was also not informed of the financial constraints to buy spare parts for the ferry from the Netherlands during my time as finance minister. Perhaps the purchase of spare parts and their delivery takes time.
“But why haven’t the spare parts arrived after 18 months of Perikatan Nasional government (being) in power? I’m saddened by the fate that has befallen on Penang’s iconic ferries.
He added that Wee is still trying to avoid responsibility after replacing the double decker ferries on January 1.
“Wee must have forgotten that Finance Minister (Datuk Seri) Tengku Zafrul (Tengku) Abdul Aziz told Parliament on December 17, 2020 that I, as then finance minister, required that the ferries remain in operation when I allocated RM30 million to Penang Port Sdn Bhd.
“Sadly, Wee overturned the (former) PH government’s decision on the matter and ended the ferry service.
“Wee often gives the wrong impression that allocations I announced during my time as finance minister did not materialise because it was not listed in the national budget. This is not true as any announcement of allocation by me as finance minister had been implemented.
“Maybe he is not the finance minister and does not understand the financial and budget procedures. But he should check his facts before making an accusation; every penny of any allocation announced by me has been fulfilled.”
Lim’s riposte came after Wee’s statement yesterday, saying the vessel was relocated there in 2019 when Lim was finance minister.
The transport minister was responding to public backlash against his ministry and the Penang Port Commission (PPC) over photos of the ferry, named Pulau Pinang, in a dismal state, with parts looted from it.
“At that time, the ferry was under Rapid Ferry, a subsidiary of Prasarana (Malaysia Bhd), which is a company under Finance Ministry Inc,” said Wee in a Facebook post just past midnight.
“Lim has easily forgotten who were the then finance and transport ministers. If he is so upset, why did he buy spare parts for the ferry and keep it in operation?
“At that time, he was so powerful, and I was not the transport minister, I was just an opposition lawmaker.”
The state’s ferries commenced operations in 1894.
They were upgraded to double-decker transporters for vehicles, motorcycles and foot passengers in the 1970s.
Last year, PPSB and regulator PPC started to phase out the ferries and replace them with modern transporters, which will go into service later this year.
Catamarans leased from ferry operators in Langkawi are now used to transport people between the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal and Sultan Abdul Halim terminal in Butterworth, pending the transporters’ arrival. – The Vibes, June 6, 2021
