GEORGE TOWN: Penang Barisan Nasional has accused the DAP-led Penang government of resorting to jumbo land sale in the last nine years since it came into power.
State BN chairman Teng Chang Yeow today produced figures gathered from the media and official records to show that the current state government had sold 2,178.72 hectare of state land compared to 1,074ha under BN in 40 years.
Based on calculations of state land sold by the state government over the past nine years, he said the people of Penang were losing an average of 20.4ha of land a month or 0.68ha of land a day.
"Conventionally, 0.68ha can build 204 low medium-cost housing units (current density of 120 units per acre) which cost RM72,500 each during the BN-led administration.
"In other words, the people of Penang have a miss opportunity of 204 units of the low medium-cost houses each day.
"Looking at these figures, there has been a jumbo land sale by the Penang government in the past nine years. Figures don't lie but liars figure. As such, the current state government should stop misleading the people," he told reporters at the state Gerakan headquarters here.
According to these figures, BN, in its 40 years, had sold 382ha (955 acres) of land in Bayan Lepas to the Penang Development Corporation; 96ha (240 acres) of land in Tanjung Tokong to E&O; 296ha (740 acres) of land in Tanjung Tokong to E&O; and 300ha (750 acres) of land in Batu Kawan to Abad Naluri.
The sale of a 642.4ha (1,606 acres) in Butterworth was cancelled.
As for the DAP-led Penang government, it had sold 0.44ha in Taman Manggis to KLIDC; 40.8ha h(102 acres) in Bayan Mutiara to Ivory; 16ha (40 acres) in Batu Kawan to PE Land; 44ha (110 acres)in Gurney Drive to Zenith; 98ha (245 acres) in Batu Kawan to Aspen; 12ha (30 acres) in Batu Kawan to Paramount; and 28ha (70 acres) in Batu Kawan to PKT.
They also sold 80ha (200 acres) in Batu Kawan to Temasek; 2.64ha (6.6 acres) in Bayan Lepas to Temasek; 8ha (20 acres) in Batu Kawan to Jabil; 1,800ha (4,500 acres) in Permatang Damar Laut to SRS; 9.88ha (24.7 acres) in Bayan Bay to Ideal; 2.64ha (6.6 acres) in Juru to Westlite; 1.76ha (4.4 acres) in Bukit Minyak to Westlite; 32ha (80 acres) in Pulau jerejak to Ideal; and 2.56ha (6.4 acres) in Peel Avenue to Island Hospital.
The current state government has time and again claimed that the previous administration had sold 1,464.4ha (3,661 acres) for RM1.0586 billion while it had only sold 42.44ha (106.1 acres) for RM1.1102 billion.
Teng said the state government's claims, that the revenue from land sale during the DAP administration was higher than BN administration, was another gross misleading statement.
"A cup of 'kopi o' in 1990 cost 60 sen but today it is priced at RM1.20. One can't argue that the coffee shop owner should have charged RM1.20 per cup in the 1990s to maximise profit.
"The fact is that the price of 60 sen at that time reflected the price of materials and goods during that period. Had the coffee shop owner charged RM1.20 per cup then, his business would have long collapsed.
"Mind you, the salary of the chief minister and his state executive council members in Penang have risen two-fold compared to the previous BN administration. Can the state government then claimed they are more prudent than the previous government?
"Salary and allowances have risen and so has the land market price over the past years. Stop misleading the people," he pointed out.
Teng, who is also state Gerakan chairman, said, he would also call for a series of press conferences to highlight what benefits Penangites had reaped from the sale of land by the previous administration.
Asked if BN would resort to legal actions to stop the sales of state land, Teng said:"It is ultimately up to the people of Penang to decide whether they want their land and the land of their future generation to continue to be sold by the state gover
nment.
"We believe that legal issue will not resolve the land sale issue. Gerakan has not been using legal means for years until recently against Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng after the latter sued its leaders on numerous occasions.
"Even then, it's only one versus Lim's several legal suits. If there is a Guinness Book of World Record on that, he and the state government can have their names inscribed there".
The New Straits Times' attempt to contact Lim for comment proved futile. He is believed to be abroad.
It was reported that Gerakan was planning to initiate contempt proceedings against Lim and seeking exemplary damages over his latest claims against the previous Gerakan-led Penang state government.
Its secretary-general Liang Teck Meng had said that Lim’s latest statement was a repeat of the latter’s “false and defamatory” allegations against the party.
Liang also said Gerakan would seek a formal injunction to stop Lim and his associates from discussing the topic pending court proceedings.
Gerakan on July 25 filed a defamation suit against Lim and the case has been fixed for hearing on January 19 next year.
Lim is being sued for claiming that the previous state government sold reclaimed land in Tanjung Tokong (now called Sri Tanjung Pinang), with an area of 396.6ha (980 acres) valued at RM42.7 million, to developers for a minimal premium of RM1 per square foot.
In a Facebook posting on Friday, Lim made a comparison between the land sales made by the BN-led state government from the 1990s until 2008, and those made by the Pakatan Harapan-led state government after 2008.
Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general, had claimed that the previous state government sold 1,481.6ha (3,661 acres) of land for RM1.0586 billion while the present state government sold 43ha (106.1 acres) for RM1.1102 billion.