PETALING JAYA, June 1 — DAP’s Air Putih assemblyman Lim Guan Eng has urged the state government to explain why no open tender was held for the 70 acre land reclamation project in front of Karpal Singh Drive.

Lim said the Penang State Assembly’s written reply to his question on May 8 only referred to the 84 acre Jelutong Dumpsite rehabilitation project, which was conducted via a Request for Proposal (RFP). A joint development agreement worth RM1 billion was signed in February 2020 for that landfill project.

“There was no mention of an RFP for the 70 acres of land reclamation in front of Karpal Singh Drive,” he said, adding that checks on public records also showed no open tender was advertised for the reclamation.

Lim stressed that open tender has been a hallmark of Pakatan’s “competent, accountable and transparent” governance since 2008, and featured in every state and national election manifesto.

“For this reason, both the Penang Chief Minister and PDC must come clean as to why there was no open tender for such a major reclamation project,” he said, emphasising that public interest demands a full account from the state government on why an open tender was not conducted.

He estimated the reclaimed land could have a market value of RM1.8 billion at RM600 per square foot.

“Failing to conduct an open tender can only be justified by national security, the urgency of the subject matter or unique expertise possessed by the other contracting party. What reasons did the government deem important enough to forgo conducting an open tender?” Lim asked.