The DAP has urged the government to state whether there are plans to privatise Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), which is owned by the Finance Ministry.

syed mokhtar al bukhary The country’s oldest port will purportedly be bought over by tycoon Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary ( left ), according to a report by Singapore's AsiaOne news portal.

PPSB was also recently highlighted in the 2009 Auditor-General’s Report and it is being probed by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for failing to complete a project which has resulted in a RM6.71 million increment in costs.

Petaling Jaya MP Tony Pua said that based on the report, the deal was done through direct negotiations instead of an open tender and this was a disappointment.

NONE “There is zero change, where government entities are being privatised despite various failures that occurred in the 1980s and the 1990s. We have seen failures in the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system, buses, water companies, and independent power producers (IPPs).

“Why isn’t there an open tender to see who can best develop Penang Port? How much investment can they bring into Penang Port to upgrade it into a world class port in the region?” asked Pua.

Syed Mokhtar is presently known as the biggest port operator in the country with his flagship company MMC Corporation owns two of the country’s busiest ports - Tanjung Pelepas and the Johor Port in Pasir Gudang.

Details of privatisation deal sought

The PAC is also probing into the cost readjustment by PPSB on the third phase of the renovation of the port from RM414.3 million in 2007 to a whopping RM641.13 million in 2008, a jump of 54.8 percent.

According to the Auditor-General's report, it could not be verified whether a detailed explanation of the increment was provided by the PPSB board of directors.

Despite that, contractors Konsortium Jamil Ghani Construction Sdn Bhd and Pembinaan Anas Maju Sdn Bhd - appointed through direct negotiations - offered to do the job at RM724.98 million before “compromising” with PPSB for a low cost of RM682 million.

NONE The auditor-general also reported that there was no comprehensive reports to support the increase project costs.

Jelutong DAP MP Jeff Ooi ( right ) said that the state has suffered badly from such concessions.

“We want the board of directors at Penang Port to suspend its chief executive officer (CEO), and to do a thorough internal domestic inquiry,” he said, adding that PAC is welcome to check on the port themselves.

“When we heard of this without going through a tender, we felt insulted and we felt shortchanged... we want Penang state government to be consulted,” said Ooi.

Penang Airport?

NONE Meanwhile, Deputy Transport Minister Abdul Rahim Bakri ( left ) said today that he has no information about the claim that the Syed Mokhtar Albukhary Group will be taking over the operation of the Penang International Airport.

When replying to Ooi in the Dewan Rakyat, Abdul Rahim said he was not even aware that such a proposal existed.

"I have no information on the issue and I do not know that there is such a proposal," said Abdul Rahim, according to Bernama.

On Ooi's supplementary question whether a low-cost carrier terminal would be built in Penang, Abdul Rahim said the government had allocated RM250 million to improve and expand the existing airport, which was now about 34 percent complete.

The airport expansion project would give advantage to low-cost and major airline companies, he added.