Penang Barisan Nasional leaders have thrown down the gauntlet at Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, counter-challenging him to sue them instead over the alleged RM30 million Pulau Jerejak scandal.

State Gerakan chief Dr Teng Hock Nan, who led the team to lambast Lim for his allegations, now accused him of speaking ‘half-truths to mislead Penangites’ as the purported scandal is a lie.

NONE Teng ( right ), a former state exco member, said Lim was wasting public funds by printing 150,000 copies of flyers to supposedly educate Penangites with these half-truths.

He held a press conference at the Kompleks Tabung Haji in Penang today to clarify in detail that the previous state government led by Gerakan did not mismanage the project.

“Where is the scandal? Where is the illegality? Where is the immorality? If Lim still feels there is any wrongdoing by any party, I challenge him to initiative legal proceedings immediately,” he told reporters at the event held in Bayan Lepas today.

“A responsible chief minister who claims to have the state at heart is morally duty-bound to ensure such projects are handled best for Penangites, instead of misleading the people with the sole ulterior motive to tarnish the image of the previous state government,” he added.

Teng said neither BN or Gerakan would be suing the state government for that is akin to suing the people as the latter was elected by them.

BN to also print leaflets

“But we will also be printing leaflets, with our own money, to explain to the people the real situation. It would be BN’s money, not the people’s,” he added.

Teng was responding to comments made in the media last week by Lim, who challenged BN to initiate legal proceedings against the state if it were not telling the truth to the people.

Lim had said that the project undertaken by the previous administration had incurred a deficit of RM30mil, and the present government was demanding that the money be returned.

NONE He added the state government had printed flyers to inform the people of the loss and urging the previous administration to give back the money.

Lim ( right ) stressed the state government saw no point in continuing with a project suffering a big deficit in its first phase.

Pulau Jerejak is a joint tourist venture by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) - a state agency - and the federal government in 2001.

It is managed by Tropical Island Resort (TIR) the shares of which are held by PDC (49 percent) and UDA Holdings (51 percent), a federal government development agency.

The RM31.5 million project involved four phases, where currently only one is completed, while the three other phases have to be developed before the whole project becomes viable.

Teng admitted that the then-state government had transferred the land to TIR while payment of the land premium was still being made by instalments.

According to him, the state exco has the power to make such a decision under section 14(1) (J) of the National Land Code.

He added that this was done to facilitate the loan procurement for the company, which is partly owned by the state (through PDC) and federal government (through UDA).

“Both are government agencies and not private entities or individuals. It was definitely not a personal company of (Gerakan chief) Koh Tsu Koon or Lim Guan Eng,” quipped the former Kebun Bunga assemblyperson.

“Lim should consider whether to continue with the three phases or pull out of the investment,” he added.

‘Where did the RM30 million losses come from?’

Meanwhile, Teng listed out facts and figures involving TIR up to December 2009, where it is noted that the company’s assets in terms of land value in 2001, its building is valued at RM47.6 million; liability RM24.1 million, capital investment RM31.5 million and book value losses until 2009 (not real losses) is RM18.5 million.

“So where did the RM30 million losses as alleged by Lim come from?” he asked.

NONE Penang Umno information chief Musa Sheikh Fadzir ( left ), who was present at the event, castigated Lim for not doing his homework before making senseless allegations against the BN.

He urged the state to lodge a complaint with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission should they find that BN leaders had committed any wrongdoing in the Pulau Jerejak project.

“Summon us and we will wait in court; don’t just play childish politics,” said the Bukit Mertajam Umno liaison chief.

“Be a proper chief minister who really wants to defend the rights of Penangites; instead he (Lim) is more willing to slander others by using the people’s money,” he added, referring to the flyers.

State MIC liaison committee chief PK Subbaiyah condemned Lim for wanting to “educate the people by misleading them”.

He said there were various important issues where the state government can educate the public.

“The chief minister should really concentrate on administering the state and not misleading the public and saying that it is to educate them,” he added.