Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 7.1.2018.
Penang is the first state government in Malaysia to implement the practice of open competitive tenders, an achievement that earned commendation from Transparency International(TI). Irresponsible elements ignore this excellent record when trying to run down and smear the state government’s image that there is no open tender system.
Open competitive tender system is one of the mainstays of CAT governance in Penang of competency, accountability and transparency, that has allowed the state government to record savings in expenditures. Open competitive tender system is one of the principal factors that led to annual Budget surpluses since 2008, a doubling of our asset reserves and a record 90% reduction of state government debt that allows Penang to have the lowest debts in the country.
Open competitive tenders have allowed the state government to turn around projected deficit budgets to actual budget surpluses. In the 2015 Auditor-General’s Report, the state government completed 99.75% of projects yet only spent 55% of the budgeted expenditures. One of the principal causes of savings is the pricing of projects that is sometimes 30% below estimates.
What is sad is that when Malay contractors secure 90% of contracts under the open competitive tenders, these irresponsible elements racialise the issue by stating that I am anti-Chinese because Malays get most of the tenders. And yet I am accused of being anti-Malay because the practice of open tenders is supposed to disadvantage and marginalise Malay contractors.
The exceptions for the implementation of open competitive tenders would be urgent projects in cases of natural disasters, emergencies or economic development strategies. As an industrial state, Penang requires investment in manufacturing, medical tourism and services sector to power economic growth in Penang.
Sales of land are sold direct to qualified companies in these sectors, which was done not only under this government but also the previous state government, since the industrialisation drive begun under the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu in 1970. Land is sold directly to these companies to attract tens of billions of US$ in investment that generate economic opportunities and create hundred thousands of jobs.
Even the sale of 2.5ha of prime land along Peel Avenue near Pulau Tikus in late 2016, to Island Hospital Group is at a price above the market value, to attract a RM2 billion investment to build the largest private hospital in Malaysia. The 1,000 bed private hospital would help to strengthen Penang’s leading position as the largest medical tourism market in Malaysia.
Therefore, claims that the state government sold off about 2,180 hectares of land with most done without open tenders, is baseless and false. In fact Penang is proud of our record of getting the best value for our land with the requisite investment to power economic growth and create jobs.
LIM GUAN ENG
——Mandarin Version —
槟州首席部长林冠英于2018年1月7日在乔治市发表声明：
槟城是第一个实行公开招标的州政府，还因此获得国际透明组织的表扬。
槟城是第一个实行公开招标的州政府，还因此获得国际透明组织的表扬。不负责任的人士企图无视这项成就，谎称州政府没有公开招标来诋毁州政府的形象。
其中一个公开招标系统是槟城能干、公信、透明的其中一个支柱，这让州政府节省了许多开销。公开招标是其中一个让州政府自2008年开始，每年可以拥有预算盈余的原因，它让我们的州储备金增加双倍，也让州政府的债务减少了90%，让槟城成为国内债务最少的州属。
公开招标让州政府在赤字预算案中转亏为盈。2015年总稽查报告中，州政府完成了99.75%的工程，但是开销只占了预算开销的55%。其中一个原因是有关项目的开销往往比预算少了30。
令人难过的是，在公开招标的情况下，明明是马来承包商赢得90%的合约，仍然有一些不负责任的人士种族化这个课题，指我“反华人”，理由是马来人获得大多数的合约。而我也被指为”反马来人“，因为公开招标被认为将让马来承包商处于下风、边缘化马来承包商。
的确，一些例外紧急情况的工程项目没有公开招标，比如面对天灾、紧急事故或为了经济发展策略。做为一个工业州，槟城有必要投资在制造业、医疗旅游业及服务业，以促进经济发展。
土地买卖直接出售给相关领域有资格的公司，这不现任政府这么做，前朝政府已故敦林苍佑主导的工业化时代已经这么做。直接卖地给这些公司吸引数百亿美元的投资，以创造经济机会和数十万个就业机会。
就算是在浮罗池滑区太子路一带2.5公顷的土地买卖中，我们以高于市场价的价格出售给槟榔医院集团，以吸引价值20亿令吉的投资，兴建全马最大的私立医院。这个拥有1000个病床的私立医院将协助槟城晋身成为马来西亚最大的医疗旅游市场。
因此，有关指责州政府大多在没有公开招标的情况下出售2180公顷的土地是毫无根据及不正确的。事实上，槟州众土地买卖中，获得促进经济成长及就业机会，我们觉得“地有所值“、并引以为荣。
林冠英