Unravelling the politics behind Penang Port
(fz.com) – From the Penang government’s perspective, there is a “sinister conspiracy” in the making, to ostensibly stifle Penang’s economy and industrial prowess.
The future of the Penang Port was placed under the lens of public scrutiny again when the federal government dismissed any possibility of an open tender in its controversial privatisation.
Acting Transport Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, during the current meeting of Parliament, put the lid on a suggestion that the tender for the port’s privatisation be re-opened.
In his reply to Bagan MP Lim Guan Eng, who is the chief minister of Penang, Hishammuddin insisted that negotiations with the successful company are already being finalised. “Because of that the question of reopening the tender does not arise,” he emphatically said.
Lim, on the other hand, has argued that there should be an open tender. The contract for the chosen company has still not been finalised almost two years after the restricted tender was processed.
(The privatisation through equity ownership in Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) was done by the Public Private Partnership Unit (UKAS) under the Prime Minister’s Department.)
Why is the fate of the Penang Port – the oldest operating port in the country – a contentious issue?
For one thing, the port’s privatisation has been decided unilaterally by the federal cabinet without any consultation with the state authorities.
The company reportedly chosen for the tender is Seaport Terminal (Johor) Sdn Bhd, which operates Port of Tanjung Pelepas (PTP) in Johor.
Seaport Terminal is owned by tycoon Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar al-Bukhary.
State’s suspicions of “sinister conspiracy”
Now there is a frustration among the state leadership that it is unable to intervene in the future of the port, located on its own land but controlled by the federal government
Read more at: http://www.fz.com/content/unravelling-politics-behind-penang-port#ixzz2ZSVdyNlk
