An unhappy Penang Gerakan Youth acting chief Jason Loo today claimed that state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng had treated him unfairly.

He said Lim preferred to show documents related to the Penang undersea tunnel to BN strategic director Abdul Rahman Dahlan rather than Penangites like himself.

Loo said Lim refused to see him when he tried to visit the latter's office in Komtar today.

"An Umno and federal minister gets special treatment to view the documents for free but a Penangite like me has to pay RM500 to obtain documents under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act to get them," said Loo.

"On top of that, we Penangites have to sign a statutory declaration to get the documents.

"The Penang government and DAP only appear to be fighting with Umno but at the back, they are clutching onto Umno's sarong," Loo stressed.

He urged the Penang and federal governments to think about who they should answer to when it came to matters of public interest.

"Should they answer to the people or developers?" Loo asked.

Loo was in Komtar today at 10.30am to try and meet Lim (photo) over documents related to the much talked about Penang undersea tunnel.

Loo had invited Lim for a debate last Saturday, but the latter did not attend.

Lim told reporters that Loo should refer to his various statements on the undersea, addressing all the queries raised by Abdul Rahman.

On May 26, Loo applied for documents on the undersea tunnel under the FOI but had yet to receive the papers as he refused to sign the statutory declaration, which classified papers require.

They included the agreement the Penang government inked with Consortium Zenith-BUCG, the firm awarded the contract to build the undersea bed tunnel and three related expressways across the island to ease traffic congestion by 2027.

Asked to comment, Lim said the FOI fees apply to all who wish to read government documents.

"I invited the minister to come to read certain documents which I possess with the approval of state government," added Lim, who oversees the public works, utility and transportation portfolio.

However, he does not have in his possession the agreement inked between the state government and Consortium Zenith-BUCG.

"Those are kept by UPEN (the nation economic planning unit)," added the DAP Bagan Jermal assemblyperson.