Following its claim that a RM2 construction company has won the bid to build a mega-road and undersea tunnel project in Penang, the BN now wants to know the identity of the person behind Konsortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd.

State BN Youth leaders want Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to reveal details of Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd's chairperson, Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli.

"We want CM to tell us who is Zarul? In all our company searches, his name appears nowhere.

NONE "Please tell us who is he?" asked state Umno Youth chief Shaik Hussein Mydin ( left ) at a press conference yesterday.

"How can the state government award the tender to an unknown person?" he queried.

Lim announced the award last week, adding that Zarul had accepted the offer on Feb 7.

The project - a 4.2km bypass from Gurney Drive and Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, a 4.6km bypass between Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu and Bandar Baru Air Itam, a 12km paired-road from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, and the 6.5km Penang-Butterworth sea tunnel - is slated for completion by 2025.

There are four companies in the joint-venture - Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and China Railway Corporation Ltd; Beijing Urban Construction Group; Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd.

Process 'cuci tangan' charge

But Shaik Hussein said that Zarul's name is not in the company registration records of any of the four companies under the Konsortium, which is a special purpose vehicle set up for the project.

"He is neither a director nor a shareholder, so what is his capacity? Lim can fool other people, but not us. But this is not to say that Lim is lying," he was quick to add.

NONE "If the project fails, who will be responsible? The state executive councillors, state officers, Zarul or will Lim wash his hands off the project?" he asked.

Shaik Hussein said Lim needs to explain the matter as the rakyat has chosen him to lead Penang, while the public cannot accept the explanation that he is not involved in the tender process.

It is more like a " proses cuci tangan " (washing hands off),  he said in jest.

Zenith Construction , he added, lacks experience, and wondered how it could be given the task to build a massive integrated road system including an undersea tunnel linking the island to Butterworth.

In exchange for payment, the state is providing the Konsortium 110 acres of land in the prime tourist belt of Tanjung Pinang.

penang bridge is burning The project has been opposed by NGOs who prefer the state to place emphasise on public transport, instead of building more roads to resolve traffic congestion on the island.

Shaik Hussein also questioned the financial capabilities of two other companies under the Konsortium - Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd (paid up capital of RM3.7 million) and Juteras Sdn Bhd (RM1 million).

The two, coupled with Zenith Construction record a total pay up capital of about RM8 billion but this venture, he calculated, is expected to grow to RM50 billion in the future.

"How can companies with such financial capacity handle a project that is worth RM50 billion in the future? This is not a small project. Tunnel building is serious business," said Shaik Hussein.

"Zarul must understand, we need to be convinced of his personal financial capacity (to carry out the massive work)," he added, saying the job specifications of each company must be made public.

'Deal emitting fishy feeling'

Meanwhile, state BN information chief H'ng Khoon Leng lamented the lack of transparency in the deal, saying he felt something "fishy" when Lim remained silent about the whole affair.

Instead, Lim had delegated the job to Zarul, state exco Lim Hock Seng and state secretary Farizan Darus "to do the talking", H'ng added.

"Farizan tries to protect him by saying that Lim does not know anything and that he does not sit on the board which decided to award the tender to the Konsortium," said the state Gerakan deputy chief.

"But it is not possible that a CM does not know anything about a billion ringgit project".

H'ng continued to harp on the RM2 paid up capital of the Konsortium, noting that in Feb 2010, the CM himself emphasised that such companies would not be awarded any contracts.

"He did not keep his promises," said H'ng but Zarul had said at a press conference on March 5, those who made an issue out of the RM2 company were either " stupid or ignorant ".

NONE H'ng ( right in photo ) then asked for the criteria list which a company must meet in order to win the bid for the project.

"We have information that other companies tried to bid for the tender but were "constructively dismissed"," H'ng alleged.

"This is like an employers playing out the worker, giving him a very hard time so that he leaves his job," he added.

"How can the companies increase their pay-up capital only when awarded the tender? The right thing to do is, the company bidding for the project must show their financial capacity before the tender is awarded".