'Show proof on Anwar'

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has had enough of Dr Teng Hock Nan's claim linking Anwar Ibrahim to the controversial move by the Seberang Perai Municipal Council (MPSP) to build its RM84.3 million headquarters in Bukit Mertajam some years ago.

Lim is now demanding that Dr Teng, who is also Penang Gerakan chief, publicly apologise over his unproven claim that Anwar, during his tenure as deputy prime minister and Penang Umno chairperson, had ‘coerced’ the state government into building the MPSP headquarters in Bandar Baru Perda.

Lim said although his Pakatan Rakyat state government has given Dr Teng enough time to reveal evidence to substantiate his claim, the Gerakan leader has failed to so until today.

"He should now openly apologise to the public, state government and Anwar for misleading the public," said Lim at a press conference at the Penang Development Corporation in Bayan Baru today.

When contacted Dr Teng, who is currently in overseas, said he would comment on Lim's demand when he returns home in the next few days.

Former Chief Minister Dr Koh Tsu Koon is believed to have instructed the then Barisan Nasional-dominated MPSP to construct the building in Bandar Baru Perda.

The original directive, it is learnt, was given in the late 90's even though at the time, the new MPSP building could have been built for RM30 million on its own land in Ampang Jajar in the Seberang Perai Utara district.

Lim has raised this matter on several occasions, including in last month's legislative assembly sitting, where Umno's Sungai Dua assemblyperson Jasmin Mohamed claimed that the MPSP was 'directed' to move by none other than Anwar himself.

"It was your Pakatan leader who ordered the shift, not us," Jasmin had told Lim when interjecting the chief minister’s winding-up speech during a session.

Lim had immediately demanded Jasmin to either show proof to substantiate his claim or desist from making wild allegations.

A few days later, Dr Teng echoed Jasmin's allegation at a press conference, to which Lim had also reacted in similar way.

A former MPSP councillor revealed that the council was compelled by Koh's administration to change its original plan, even though councillors had opposed the costly idea.

Even if Anwar had ordered the move, the source said then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad would have ordered Koh to cancel the decision after Anwar was sacked from the government and Umno in 1998.

"After all, the project was actually carried out years after Anwar's exit from the BN government and Koh was ruling the roost.

"The previous state government is looking for a scapegoat," alleged the councillor, adding that some RM100 million was spent to purchase the land from Bandar Perda developer, Syarikat Aseania Development Sdn Bhd, on which to construct the building.

Lim is also curious to know why the project was awarded to Aseania Development - owned by a local Umno leader - under a closed tender process, not an open one.

The headquarters is among projects said to have attributed to MPSP financial problems.

Early this month, the state government appointed state financial officer Supiah Md Yusof as MPSP acting-president to probe the 'mystery' behind the missing millions from the local authority’s coffers.

Supiah has been tasked to particularly probe into reasons behind the sharp fall in MPSP reserves, from RM225.021 million to a meagre RM6.45 million from 2000 to 2008.

She is expected to submit a report early next week to the state executive council.

The state government plans to use Supiah's findings as a basis to hire an independent auditor to further probe and produce a comprehensive report on the whole MPSP financial saga.

Lim has also not ruled out engaging the police and Anti-Corruption Agency to investigate the alleged misappropriation of the council's public funds, hinting that the state government may file civil suits against individuals to recover the lost money.