MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek has thrown a challenge to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to stop operations at the Swettenham Pier cruise ship terminal.

2012 selangor dap convention 041112 lim guan eng 3 Chua said he made the challenge based on the state government's action to revoke the application by the Penang Port Commission to renew its occupancy of the land, which had left the terminal without a certificate of fitness (CF).

"If he (Lim) dares, I challenge him to cancel the project. But I think he would not dare because the jetty receives more than one million tourists every year," he told reporters after the ground-breaking ceremony for a hall for Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Ping Ming near Lima Kedai in Johor Baharu today.

It was reported in the press that failure on the part of the Penang Municipal Council to issue the CF for the RM65 million building meant tourists risked using the facility.

The three-storey building was only given a temporary occupation certificate since its completion three years ago.

- Bernama