Guan Eng: Bernama misled on Bayan Mutiara
Published: May 3, 2012 9:25 AM | Updated: May 3, 2012 10:03 AM
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today accused Bernama of misreporting a statement he made in the Penang state legislative assembly yesterday on the open tender sale of the Bayan Mutiara land.
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng today accused Bernama of misreporting a statement he made in the Penang state legislative assembly yesterday on the open tender sale of the Bayan Mutiara land.
The national news agency, Lim said, only reported him saying that the sale of the Bayan Mutiara plot was not based on the valuation made by the Valuation and Property Services Department and did not state the valuation figure.
"This will give the impression that the state government had set a price lower than the valuation made by the department," he said in a press statement.
It is usually the BN government, Lim said, that does not call open tenders and sets prices lower than that provided in valuations.
He said he told the state assembly yesterday that the price set by the Valuation and Property Services Department in a letter dated Nov 5, 2009, was RM65 per square foot but the state government did not follow it because it was "too low".
Lim added: "Instead, the state government set the reserve price at RM200 per square foot, which is three times the valuation (made by the department).
"In the open tender which closed on Dec 31, 2010, the developer who made the highest offer at RM240 per square foot, or RM1.07 billion for 102.56 acres, was chosen."
Lim said he made this statement when responding to a question from Jasmin Mohamed (BN-Sungai Dua) at the Penang state legislative assembly yesterday, and that Bernama did not report all the facts presented.
His office then contacted Bernama to have the report corrected, but the news agency refused to do so.
Lim lamented the news agency's reluctance to make all the facts known, calling it a "deliberate" attempt to confuse the people.
"I regret that on World Press Freedom Day, Bernama has chosen to abuse its freedom by making confusing reports about my answer in the Penang state legislative assembly," the chief minister added.
The national news agency, Lim said, only reported him saying that the sale of the Bayan Mutiara plot was not based on the valuation made by the Valuation and Property Services Department and did not state the valuation figure.
"This will give the impression that the state government had set a price lower than the valuation made by the department," he said in a press statement. It is usually the BN government, Lim said, that does not call open tenders and sets prices lower than that provided in valuations.
He said he told the state assembly yesterday that the price set by the Valuation and Property Services Department in a letter dated Nov 5, 2009, was RM65 per square foot but the state government did not follow it because it was "too low".
Lim added: "Instead, the state government set the reserve price at RM200 per square foot, which is three times the valuation (made by the department).
"In the open tender which closed on Dec 31, 2010, the developer who made the highest offer at RM240 per square foot, or RM1.07 billion for 102.56 acres, was chosen."
Lim said he made this statement when responding to a question from Jasmin Mohamed (BN-Sungai Dua) at the Penang state legislative assembly yesterday, and that Bernama did not report all the facts presented.
His office then contacted Bernama to have the report corrected, but the news agency refused to do so.
Lim lamented the news agency's reluctance to make all the facts known, calling it a "deliberate" attempt to confuse the people.
"I regret that on World Press Freedom Day, Bernama has chosen to abuse its freedom by making confusing reports about my answer in the Penang state legislative assembly," the chief minister added.
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