The Penang state government has been accused of being indecisive over the implementation of the proposed RM1.4 billion monorail project in George Town.

Questions are being asked as to when the project will actually kick off, after having been rescheduled a few times in the past.

Critics of Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon have pointed out that he had contradicted himself frequently by making confounding announcements on the proposed project.

"He should refrain from making any statements until when the project is ready for implementation. He should just concentrate in implementing the project," said Penang DAP secretary Danny Law Heng Kiang.

"His statements are making a mockery out of the project," added Law.

The project was first mooted in November 2003 when Koh told a press conference that the state government had scrapped its plan to introduce the Light Rail Transit (LRT) transport system.

Instead, he announced a RM1.1 billion monorail project was in the pipeline to replace the cancelled LRT project, adding that the monorail route map and alignment, and cost had been finalised.

The monorail project was to start immediately and be operational in 2007.

For the purposes of the project, 3.2 hectares of land in Air Itam, owned by the local municipality, was to be developed into a monorail interchange terminal and new transport hub.

That announcement was made four months before the 2004 general election, prompting opposition parties to criticise Koh of performing electoral publicity stunts.

Another gimmick?

And then in December 2004, Koh told the media that the proposed project had been rescheduled to commence in early 2005 and be completed in 2008.

However, in early 2005, Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy said his ministry had not received any proposal project papers from the Penang government.

At that time Koh did not comment on Chan's statement.

Last November, Koh told the State Legislative Assembly that the monorail project would take off in mid-2007 and be ready in 2010.

And finally, another new development was announced when Koh told the assembly last week that the monorail project would take off in early 2008 and be ready in 2012.

Koh also revealed the project had been undertaken by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd, the investment arm of the Finance Ministry.

The proposed 30 to 40km monorail route would link George Town city centre, Air Itam, Paya Terubong, Bayan Baru, Bayan Lepas and Tanjung Tokong on the Penang island.

The State Economic Planning Unit is studying tender bids from four companies with strong Umno links - Scomi Engineering Bhd, Melewar Industrial Group Bhd, MMC Metrail Sdn Bhd and UEM Group, he added.

Now once again, this latest development has caused concerns among the opposition parties.

Produce details

DAP's Law thinks Koh's latest announcement might just be a mere political gimmick to capture the voters' imagination in the coming general election.

He challenged Koh to reveal comprehensive details on the project's market study, environment impact assessment report, land acquisition process, funding, feasibility and privatisation reports.

"If Koh could not produce the details then he should stop making statements to gain political mileage," he said.

Law cautioned that privatisation of the project would spell disaster to the government as it may have to fork out millions from the public coffer to bail out these companies if they incurred huge losses.

"It would be better if the monorail were to be operated by a public enterprise from the start," said Law.

Koh's office was unable to comment today.