Returning fire to Umno for saying that he could not live without putting the blame on the previous BN state government, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said his administration, too, has reclaimed land to benefit the people but at a much higher cost-benefit ratio.

He pointed out that the BN state government got less revenue even though it sold 36 times more land than the Pakatan Harapan state government.

In a statement today, Lim said the 60 acres of reclaimed land that has been approved by the present Pakatan Harapan administration had enabled the setting up of a RM500 million fund for building affordable and public housing comprising 22,515 units.

The fund was also set up to build sports complexes including a velodrome, three basketball courts, an open public football field with international specifications and an international Olympic-sized swimming and diving pool, he added.

Lim said the previous BN state government had approved 4,361 acres for reclamation, 72 times more than what his administration did, but in contrast, Penangites did not benefit in comparable terms.

The works by the present administration included 1,120 acres reclaimed by the Penang Development Corporation for industrial, commercial and housing purposes to spur economic growth, he said..

In terms of money paid to the state government, the sale of 106.1 acres of land at Bayan Mutiara, brought in a higher sum of RM1.1102 billion.

“Compare that to the 3,661 acres by the BN state government that only obtained a lesser amount of RM1.0586 billion,” Lim said in a statement.

“In other words, the BN state government got less money even though it sold 36 times more land than Pakatan Harapan.

"This proves the benefit of the open competitive tenders and transparent governance practised by the Penang Pakatan Harapan government compared to the opaque and crony policy of the previous BN state government,” he added.

Yesterday, Umno Pulau Betong assemblyperson Muhammad Farid Saad said Lim could not live without pushing the blame to the previous BN administration although he (Lim) has been in power for more than seven years.

He was referring to Lim’s claim that the previous BN government had approved 3,241 acres of land for reclamation.

According to Farid, all reclamation projects approved by the Penang BN administration were planned with far-sightedness to cater for the social and economic needs of the state and its people.

Land revenue lost

In response, Lim said BN should concede that its rule in Penang ‘died and ended’ because of failed governance - lack of transparency, accountability and competency.

The difference between BN’s approval of 4,361 acres of reclaimed land in contrast to the present state’s 60 acres, he added, lies in terms of the large disparity of land size and whether it (the reclamation) was conducted without public open tender or sold below market price.

“This can be seen by the fact that companies that were granted the reclamation projects either recorded extraordinary profits or that the public failed to obtain any discernible benefit from the projects,” Lim said.

He recalled that the land reclamation project in Tanjung Pinang was granted at a shockingly low price of RM1 psf during BN’s tenure prior to 2008.

He insisted the present administration managed to improve the terms of the concession land by increasing the reclaimed land granted to the state government from 10% to 20% after intensive negotiations with E&O Bhd.

As for the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Highway project, Lim said ‘favourable terms’ granted by BN had enabled IJM Properties to rely on its reclaimed land in Penang as its principal and dominant profit generator.

“Hence, BN should concede that its lack of transparency and accountability in conducting the reclamation of state land had caused loss of revenue which otherwise could have benefited the Penang people,” Lim said.

Lim pointed out that since the federal government has marginalised Penang by refusing to approve any projects for the state during Budget 2016, the state had to find other sources of revenue.

This was to ensure continued investment of infrastructure improvements, investment in education and investment in innovative enterprises to propel Penang’s economic growth towards a high-income economy status, he added.

“This would necessarily include future proposals for land reclamation that can optimise returns to the state government without affecting sustainable development while minimising environmental impact,” Lim said.