Parliament Penang Port privatisation finalised on Nov 23 without public knowledge; Guan Eng calls deal 'mysterious piratisation'

by **Cals** Thu 27 Mar 2014, 18:33

Parliament Penang Port privatisation finalised on Nov 23 without public knowledge; Guan Eng calls deal 'mysterious piratisation'

Business & Markets 2014

Written by Ho Wah Foon of theedgemalaysia.com

Thursday, 27 March 2014 13:58

KUALA LUMPUR (March 27): The Federal Government finalised the privatisation deal of Penang Port on Nov 23 last year with Seaport Terminal (Johore) Sdn Bhd, Parliament was told in a written reply to a question raised by MP for Bagan Lim Guan Eng today.

Lim, who is not in the know about the terms of the deal although he is also the Chief Minister of Penang, immediately called the deal “mysterious” and the exercise akin to 'piratisation'.

The privatisation of this northern port was awarded to tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhari’s Seaport Terminal (Johor) Sdn Bhd in December 2010, but the terms of the privatisation were only made known today by a Cabinet Minister. The deal was finalised via a supplemental agreement signed on Nov 23.

Among the terms in the finalised deal was one that Seaport Terminal has to assume the debts of the port totalling RM1.2 billion, according to a written reply by Minister in the Prime Minister Deparment Datuk Seri Abdul Wahid Omar.

Other major terms in final deal of the privatisation included: Seaport Terminal would have to shoulder the yearly loss of Penang Port amounting to RM16 million, it has to pay for expenses incurred in deepening the seabed of the port, and inject capital into the port.

As the privatisation deal was finalised without the knowledge of the Penang government and the public, Penang Chief Minsiter Lim Guan Eng immediately called this exercise “mysterious”.

In a statement, Lim said: “The mysterious privatisation of Penang Port under a restricted tender raises serious questions of public interest, accountability and transparency.”

Lim, who is also the MP of Bagan, added in his press statement: “Unless a full public announcement is made by the Transport Ministry, this privatisation will be seen as just another piratisation exercise similar to the highway toll concessionaires.

“The refusal of the Transport Ministry so far to make any public clarification of how this privatisation exercise benefits public interest smacks of arrogance, secretiveness and mismanagement, which is steeped in the BN ethos of reciprocal favours, patronage and conspiracy,” he said.