Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has challenged the previous BN administration to explain why it included confidentiality clauses in its reclamation agreements with private companies.

“Let’s go back to the basics, explain why there are confidentiality clauses in the reclamation agreements. Are they so confident that all the conditions stated in the agreements are not against public interest?” Lim asked at a press conference today.

“While we are at it, explain also why there is no open tender for these concessions.

“Instead of coming clean on this issue, the BN continues to blame me for not revealing the previous agreements on reclamation which was signed during the administration prior to 2008,” he added.

Lim had said his administration was tied by the confidentiality clauses in the agreements although he has promised to disclose them, when he said so during the public consultation on the Transport Master Plan last week.

He added that the state has no power to compel the private companies to waive the clause but has written to them to seek their permission.

Lim was responding to state BN chief Teng Chang Yeow’s ( photo ) statement asking if the chief minister has written to any of the companies to waive their rights under the confidentiality clause.

Teng said if the companies have refused to listen to Lim, it only shows that the latter is a “weak” chief minister.

The state Gerakan chief also accused Lim of “creating a falsehood” of RM1 billion compensation if the reclamation is delayed without proving such claims.

He also returned the blame on Lim for being “deceitful” for accusing him of agreeing to the confidentiality clause in the agreements when he was not the state executive councillor then (in the previous BN government).

To prove his point, Lim today revealed the letter he sent to the state secretariat requesting them to issue the letters to the concessionaires to waive their confidentiality rights.

“When I said the state government had no power to disclose the concessions until the company gave us permission due to confidentiality clauses, I was criticised and challenged to reveal the documents.

“They (BN) asked why I have not written a letter when I have done so; do not just attack us when we have made an effort to disclose the documents,” he added.

“We have to remember, the documents were signed between the former BN government and the private companies, which means they (BN) agreed to the confidentiality clause; we are being forced to pay the price of their mistakes,” he said.

Lim said BN’s criticisms - saying he had gone back on his words to disclose the agreements - are mala fide , made with malicious intentions.

However, despite this setback, the state government will disclose agreements that it signed with the private companies on the 60 acres of land reclamation, he added.

Lim pointed out that the 3,241 acres of reclamation agreements signed by BN had confidentiality clauses while the 60 acres inked under his administration were free of such clauses.

“So, it is irrational now to blame me for not wanting to disclose their agreements,” he said.

Teng, however, disagrees with the size of the acres approved under Pakatan, saying it is actually 211 acres which Lim admitted in his budget speech.