Bohong or not, just blame it on Betty, why don’t you.
Lim Guan Eng revealed all kinds of acreage, plot sizes, grant numbers, land ownership and cost of relocation of squatters on that 1MDB’s land, but he does not know the value of his own house.
Kenneth Lee
Embattled Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wants Barisan Nasional MP Datuk Rahman Dahlan to apologise for saying he “bohong” about affordable homes in Penang. Whilst Datuk Rahman Dahlan may choose to apologise for calling him Lim Guan Eng a “liar”, it does not make it true that Lim Guan Eng did not “bohong” about other things in the 25 Jalan Pinhorn imbroglio.
Lim Guan Eng keeps insisting on reminding the Rakyat that he is the Chief Minister of Penang, and not a property agent. Yes, we know that this Batu Pahat man is the most influential man in Penang, in total absolute control and in charge of all matters Penang. Yes, we know that he is the man in the know about all things Penang including Penang’s best food stalls, but he is so in the know that he does not know the property prices of 25 Jalan Pinhorn Penang and valuation in that neighbourhood. That one single property matter, he claims, was handled wholly by his wife Betty who is a close friend of the seller Phang Li Khoon.
Astute DAP Parlimentarians and his supporters in DAP (including his 75-year old father Lim Kit Siang who must surely have bought and sold more properties in his lifetime) have also come out to defend him, repeating that he does not know about matters of valuation and that he is not a property agent. These are their words, not the Rakyat’s nor Datuk Rahman Dahlan’s.
So it is really strange that only very recently in November 2015 (only a few months after he signed his Sale and Purchase Agreement with Phang and after paying stamp duty on it) Lim Guan Eng in a press conference claimed that the Ayer Itam Penang land owned by 1MDB which was bought for RM1.08 billion was deemed exorbitant. He even said that it was “95% higher than what some of the land was valued at”. He also revealed all kinds of acreage, plot sizes, grant numbers, land ownership and cost of relocation of squatters on that 1MDB’s land.
How would he know this piece of Penang land was expensive if he had not studied Penang land prices and made appropriate comparisons? Is he going to say that those details were prepared by his staff, and that he only read a speech? Is this man who is the Chief Minister of Penang since 2008 going to say that he only studied property valuation in Penang after he signed the SPA for his house? Is he going to insist that he is merely an accountant, which I am sure he must be good at since he has been counting the profit on his house?
To his supporters, Lim Guan Eng might be an angel, but his behavior has revealed that he may be a real CAD (not CAT). Not only did he not proceed with Phase 2 of the low-cost homes at the Taman Manggis land which he bartered for his house, he was also adamant that Penang (under him) would not approve of any development or transfers of parcels of the Ayer Itam land owned by 1MDB despite 1MDB revealing that a portion of the land will be used for affordable housing. 1MDB has committed to include plans to build 10,000 flats and affordable homes on the Ayer Itam land. When Lim Guan Eng decided to block 1MDB’s deals, did he bother to ask 1MDB or its future buyer what development plans they had for the land? Did he bother to ask how 1MDB’s land development plans could benefit Penangites? Did he bother to sit down with the potential buyer to ensure that any development on Ayer Itam Land would be in the interest of Penang? But no, he said and I quote “don’t play with us, I have given multiple warnings. We will not approve the land transfer”. Perhaps he has not finished plotting how he can get another barter for himself done.
So next time any Penangite blames the Federal Government or 1MDB for the lack of affordable housing in Penang, please can you look at yourself in the mirror and ask why you continue to trust the words of your Chief Minister.
It appears that many of what Lim Guan Eng says and does is at his convenience and as and when it suits him. He can know valuation principles one minute, and then forget about it the next, especially when it comes to accusations against him. He can say one development is better for Penang one minute, and then dislike another of the same the next, especially when it comes to 1MDB. His moral high ground and holier-than-thou attitude may fool some, but that is probably just a mask for his all powerful DAP-would-die-without-Penang-and-me persona.
So “bohong or not”, let’s just blame it on his wife Betty. At least we now know who wears the trousers in that house.
http://www.theedgeproperty.com.my/content/‘1mdb-only-holds-20-air-itam-land-purchased’
http://www.dailyexpress.com.my/news.cfm?NewsID=91416
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/02/14/guan-eng-pressures-1mdb-on-land-deal/
http://www.malaysia-today.net/guan-eng-penang-will-not-approve-any-1mdb-land-deals/
