GEORGE TOWN – Former deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy has defended himself after Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow accused him of “not doing anything” when he was in office to restructure the Penang Development Corporation (PDC).
Taking to social media, Ramasamy appealed for balanced reporting on the matter, saying that since he was criticised by Chow, it was only fair that he be allowed to give his version of what had transpired to PDC in a controversial industrial land sale.
The dispute between Ramasamy, a former three-term deputy chief minister, and Chow had erupted after the former insisted that there was “more than meets the eye” in the deal.
Ramasamy said that though the joint development agreement (JDA) between PDC and Umech was rescinded on grounds that Umech executed a share equity change by selling up to 70% of stake to master city developer Sunway Group Bhd without notifying PDC, there are more questions which need clarification.
“Will the state government be prepared to initiate disciplinary action against those in the PDC who could have been responsible for the controversial land deal?
“As the former director of PDC for 15 years, I urge Penang to do the right thing and not to hide behind the termination (of the deal). It is well and good to harp on the slogan of competency, accountability and transparency (CAT) principles, without realising that the ‘cat might be out of the bag’.”
PDC’s termination of the Batu Kawan Industrial Park II deal leaves many questions unanswered, Ramasamy stressed.
“In other words, the last-minute change in the equity of the company with the entry of Sunway taking the majority share was something that happened without any approval of the PDC or the state government. This was the reason why the PDC board had no choice but to terminate the sale and purchase agreement with Umech Land.”
Given the controversial nature of the land sale to Umech Land and the last-minute unannounced entry of Sunway to take the majority shares in the company, PDC had no choice but to terminate the agreement.
While the proposal of Umech Construction was discussed at the level of the PDC, there was no decision made either in the subcommittee or the PDC board to approve the sale of the land, said Ramasamy.
PDC has since defended the land sale deal saying it was a bona fide transaction.
“If this is so, why didn’t PDC sign the land sale agreement with Umech Construction but with Umech Land? Throughout the discussions in the PDC, the reference was only to Umech Construction and not Umech Land. Why the last-minute switch?
“Can PDC explain this?” asked Ramasamy.
The PDC board might have terminated the land deal, but many questions remain unanswered, added Ramasamy. – The Vibes, October 18, 2023
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