Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow said he will be taking legal action against the Lifetime Honorary President of the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping for his statement which the CM said was humiliating and degrading.
It was in relation to Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping who used words that humiliating and degrading, the CM said he would be taking legal action on the matter.
Separately, Chow has also clarified the now aborted land deal between Umech and Penang Development Corporation where the CM has instructed the PDC management to prepare paperwork to review the land sale procedures for projects to be carried out on land owned by PDC.
Chow who is also the PDC chairman, said this is important to improve the existing processes and policies related to land transactions.
“PDC does have several methods for land deals, including open tenders, direct negotiations and others.
“We have instructed PDC management to prepare and present its paperwork that contains recommendations among others, so that the board of directors can thoroughly review these procedures to prevent any future mishaps.
“The PDC management is required to present its paperwork during an upcoming meeting, which is scheduled to be held in a few weeks.
“Following this, the PDC board of directors will establish specific guidelines to improve the existing land transaction process,” Chow told a press conference in Komtar today when asked about the land deal between PDC and Umech Land Sdn Bhd.
PDC, in its statement yesterday (Oct 17), announced the termination of a joint venture agreement with Umech Land Sdn Bhd for the development of Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 (BKIP2), also known as Byram Industrial Park.
In the statement, PDC said the majority change in Umech Land’s equity structure without PDC’s official approval was serious and unacceptable to the Board.
“The change in the majority of the equity structure of Umech Land Sdn Bhd to the extent that there is a change in the party controlling and leading the project that is implemented without notifying and obtaining PDC’s official approval is an issue that is taken seriously and cannot be accepted by the PDC Board.
“Therefore, the PDC Board decided to terminate the joint venture agreement with Umech Land Sdn Bhd by giving a three-month notice based on clause 19 of the PDC-Umech Land Sdn Bhd Enterprise Agreement,” the statement read.
Regarding a question about why the land deal was signed with Umech Land instead of Umech Construction, Chow explained that these two companies have the same shareholders and directors.
“So, there is no issue on that. It has been explained already by PDC before,” he said.
Asked about the suggestions by certain parties to revamp PDC, Chow thanked those who gave such suggestions to improve the performance of the state government, including the state agencies under it.
“But frankly speaking, each employee in PDC, including the chief executive officer, is evaluated based on their key performance indicators (KPIs). If they don’t achieve their KPIs, it will affect other things such as their bonuses and others,” he said.
As for suggestions that PDC should develop the BKIP2 land on its own instead of outsourcing it to a third party, Chow replied that the PDC board welcomes all suggestions and will reevaluate the existing policies once the PDC management presents their recommendations.
Chow added that no other details will be shared regarding the land deal with Umech Land until PDC receives feedback within the three-month notice period given to the company.
“The three-month notice is to tell them that we want to terminate the joint venture agreement between PDC and Umech Land. So, we are waiting for them to reply first if there is any argument and others,” said Chow.
