I refer to the Malaysiakini article Is the SRS Transport Masterplan another financial scandal?

I ask amidst all these investigations and restructuring at the federal level, will we see similar transparency in the states? The Penang Transport Master Plan is an example of where the debate has reached a good standard after which a transparent bureaucracy can decide one way or the other.

There have been too many initiatives which are examples of hypocrisy where open tenders are not used, especially ones in which average companies can bid for.

Why are states now left to run on their own devices with increasing power without balance? In Penang, we have the Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) utilised for projects which are largely for private sector entrepreneurship, expertise and development.

In recent years, aside from the Peel Road land, there have been other land banks abused including plots bordering Lebuhraya Codrington, Lengkok Burma and Jalan Burma and Penang Hill.

There is also the case of two hectares of land bordering Jalan Brown, Jalan DS Ramanathan and Lebuhraya Rose which the Citizens Awareness Chant Group correctly pointed out was transferred to the Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) before being leased or sold to a private hospital for medical tourism.

CMI also issues Request For Proposal (RFPs) for development but no open tenders. But how many of these have actually been successful? Or has all these lands been transferred to CMI to allow for a total lack of transparency which is shocking because this is exactly why 1MDB was created - to raise funds without bureaucracy standing in the way.

On city development within Georgetown, what is CMI's role with Think City? And why is Think City, a Khazanah subsidiary funded by millions from Yayasan Hasanah (a fully-owned subsidiary of Khazanah) allowed to be the sole provider of urban regeneration ideas?

Think City is not subject to any form of supervision - what businesses do Think City promote, and who is it owned by? So far, we have seen an excellent hipster type coffee culture emerge in George Town which promotes a lifestyle for the elite.

Which architects were used for these projects? Which engineers were used? Why are these services so elitist? If we want true dynamism in Penang, we need to open up ideas, regeneration and services to a broader base - or be in danger of a government promoting elitism and lacking transparency in its processes.

Think Singapore where an overreaching government has largely crowded out entrepreneurship.

In 2015, CMI not only brought in Think City but also the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, no doubt an experienced body - but make no doubt about it – motivated by profit and is a purely private enterprise.

Again, why are strictly government roles in urban regeneration and projects now subject to opinions by private bodies, and as common criticism goes - entire privately-funded project proposals are now passed on freely to Think City and its network of business associates.

Let us increase transparency in state institutions as Penang development is for the masses not just for the elites.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.