Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and his predecessor Lim Guan Eng have engaged in a heated spat over a failed tender for the proposed Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 project in Byram. Chow accused Lim of believing a media report over his own comrade, while Lim questioned the state government's explanation of the facts.
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and his predecessor Lim Guan Eng , who have been at loggerheads for a while now, have got into yet another heated spat.
Chow even thumped the table at the state assembly before lashing out at Lim, claiming that the latter would rather believe a media report rather than his own comrade. Chow then loudly told Lim to sit down. Lim, in turn, told Chow not to get emotional, adding that the state government should explain the facts if what was reported was inaccurate.
The angry exchange erupted on Thursday over a failed tender for the proposed Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 project in Byram. The newspaper had criticised the project, which Lim claims had affected the Penang government’s image. Chow, in his winding-up speech, said Penang Development Corporation did not proceed with a previous RM818mil offer from an IJM-Aspen consortium because the bidder failed to meet five of nine conditions set under the request for proposal .
Chow also said the consortium had attached conditions that would impose substantial costs on PDC, of which he is the chairman. Among the requirements was that the successful bidder had to build a bridge linking the site to Batu Kawan Industrial Park. The consortium had refused to do so.
“The bridge alone would cost more than RM200mil, reducing the effective value of the RM818mil offer to about RM500mil after other costs are factored in,” he said. Chow also said PDC could not accept the consortium’s request for the first right of refusal over nearby land, as it would limit the state government’s control over future land use.
“If the consortium had been given first right of refusal to several hundred acres next to the land, we would no longer be the government. Aspen would become the government,” he said. Lim then asked Chow to disclose which companies had taken part in the latest RFP exercise, and why the second RFP did not proceed. Chow did not answer directly, except to say that the state government could not accept the IJM-Aspen offer given the conditions attached.
That led to the shouting match, with Chow maintaining that each RFP carried different terms and offers, while Lim stressed that all details should be made public because the matter involved a major state asset.
“If the people of Penang want us to accept such an offer, I must say this: sorry, cannot,” he said before repeating his apology in English, Malay, Mandarin and Tamil. In 2023, PDC signed a joint development agreement with Umech Land Sdn Bhd in 2023 for the RM3.5bil project, with Umech Land set to pay RM646.02mil for the land.
However, the deal drew scrutiny after Sunway Berhad acquired a 70% stake in Umech Land just two days before the agreement was signed on Sept 27, 2023. The agreement was later terminated following criticism over the land valuation and ownership changes. In 2024, a consortium led by IJM Properties, together with Aspen Vision All and Mettiz Capital, submitted the RM818mil bid, but PDC rejected the proposal. Police seek public help to find two girls missing in Sungai Buloh
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow Lim Guan Eng Failed Tender Batu Kawan Industrial Park 2 Penang Development Corporation Request For Proposal Bridge First Right Of Refusal Companies Second RFP
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