Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In George Town, Penang On 4.2.2018.
MCA Minister Wee Ka Siong’s desperate lies to sabotage the Penang road and tunnel project with false allegations of corruption will not whitewash the RM 52 billion 1MDB scandal that has made Malaysia world famous as a global kleptocracy. The 3 roads and tunnel project was the first project in Malaysian electoral history to be presented to the people on the eve of the 2013 general elections to allow the people to decide whether they support this initiative to alleviate traffic congestion, by giving them the option to endorse or vote out the Pakatan government.
The overwhelming victory by Pakatan where MCA, Gerakan and MIC lost all their seats clearly showed the endorsement of the rakyat for this bold initiative to mitigate traffic congestion in Penang. Wee and BN is now taking revenge for that disastrous electoral outing in Penang, by trying to sabotage this project with distortions or outright lies.
Amongst the false insinuations by Wee are that,
· Zenith the consortium that was awarded the contract was not granted the contract properly when the truth is that it is granted by open competitive tender;
· a fashion company is building the roads and tunnels when the truth is that the main contractor is China Railway Construction Corporation(CRCC), one of the largest construction company in the world;
· that CRCC’s role is irrelevant because it is not a shareholder when the truth is that CRCC signed the agreement as the main contractor together with Zenith and the state government; and
· the commitment by CRCC to ensure the completion of the project is not legally valid because CRCC’s commitment is not stamped when the truth is that the principal agreement is stamped and CRCC’s commitment is part of the agreement.
Wee continues his desperate lies by now claiming that the Penang government awarded this RM6.3 billion Major Roads and Tunnel project to an 82-day-old special purpose company that did not support the state government’s contention of a paid-up capital of RM4.5 billion. Wee even claimed that the Penang government has misrepresented the shareholders of the Penang Tunnel company since CRCC and BUCG (Beijing Urban Construction Group) have never been shareholders. This is untrue because BUCG was originally a shareholder before they were allowed to leave.
A special purpose vehicle formed by companies to undertake a specific project is a common feature in major projects, not only in Putrajaya but throughout the world. The Zenith Consortium is a bumiputera company formed by local and foreign companies specifically for this project that fulfilled the RM381million minimum paid-up to qualify for the project.
For Wee to claim that the Zenith Consortium failed to fulfil the RM381 million minimum paid up capital requirement is false because it ignores the fact that the Zenith Consortium won the tender by open competitive tender. How can there be kickbacks of millions of ringgit by Penang government political leaders, when the Penang State Tender committee is headed by the Penang State Secretary and other state government civil servants? This corruption investigation is clearly a political witch-hunt by BN to tarnish the image of the Penang state government in the run-up to the coming general elections.
Wee also said that the Zenith Consortium was in financial distress when it was awarded the tender contract in 2013. Whilst we cannot answer on behalf of the company, the Penang Tender Committee headed by the Penang State Secretary made the right decision then, because until today 5 years later, this so-called “financially-distressed company” is still progressing and has not gone bankrupt.
Wee is wrong when he said that the part CRCC signed was in a document that was merely an attached letter of commitment. Wee lied by saying that the attached letter of commitment was only a supporting document or a mere reference, when it is actually a part of the contract or principal agreement. Wee lied again by refusing to acknowledge that CRCC had also signed in the principal agreement as the main contractor together with the state government and Zenith consortium. In other words, CRCC signed twice.
As CRCC’s role is part of the principal agreement, stamping would have the legal effect of covering CRCC’s commitments. Only Wee can imply that stamping is required to be done on every page of the contract to have legal effect. There is a reason why Wee deliberately refuses to apologise for his blatant lie that the agreement was not stamped or that CRCC’s commitment to complete the project was not legally binding because it was not stamped.
Wee is desperate to exclude CRCC because CRCC is part of the main agreement that was signed by the state government on 29.10.2013 together with Zenith consortium. Even CRCC has issued a statement that was cited by Wee in The Star on 20.1.2018, confirming that CRCC is the main contractor for this project.
In other words, it was a form of “tri-partite agreement” comprising the state government, Zenith consortium as shareholders, and CRCC as the main contractor. In order to lock in CRCC as the main contractor, CRCC gave an additional commitment in the agreement to successfully complete the project – a form of double insurance. Locking in CRCC is important to ensure the project’s success not only in terms of financial viability but also the technical and professional expertise required for such a major project.
In conclusion, with the agreement signed also by CRCC, and that the agreement was also stamped, this is where the whole project has the legal backing of companies with a paid-up capital of RM4.5 billion that has committed itself legally to ensure its successful completion. For this reason, BUCG’s role as a shareholder of the Zenith Consortium is not as critical as the presence of CRCC as the main contractor will ensure the success of the project.
Lim Guan Eng
—-Mandarin Version
民主行动党秘书长林冠英于2018年2月4日在乔治市发表声明：
魏家祥穷途末路，尽管他必须撒谎，以莫须有的贪污指控破坏槟城的道路及海底隧道计划，也没有办法漂白一马机构520亿令吉丑闻，这项丑闻已经让马来西亚成为举世闻名的“盗贼统治”国家。
马华部长魏家祥穷途末路，尽管他必须撒谎，以莫须有的贪污指控来破坏槟城的道路及海底隧道计划，也没有办法为一马机构520亿令吉丑闻漂白，这项丑闻已经让马来西亚成为举世闻名的“盗贼统治”国家。三条道路及海底隧道是马来西亚选举历史上第一次在2013年大选前夕公布，让人民来决定他们是否支持这项减缓交通阻塞的计划，他们可以通过投票选择是否支持上述计划，或者把当时的民联政府踢出局。
民联政府的压倒性胜利让马华、民政及国大党失去所有议席，这明显地说明，人民支持上述大胆的工程，以缓解槟城的交通阻塞问题。魏家祥和国阵现在针对上述对他们如同灾难的投票结果进行报复，为了破坏上述工程而扭曲言论、撒谎。
魏家祥的谎言包括：
• 他声称获得工程合约的Zenith 不正当地取得合约，事实上，他们在公开招标中赢得合约。
• 他声称一家服装公司竟然要筑路道隧道，事实上，主要承包商是中国铁建公司，世界上最大的建筑公司之一。
• 他声称中国铁建国际集团有限公司(CRCC）的角色毫不相关的，因为它不是主要的股东，事实上，中国铁建与Zenith一起，与州政府签约关系，成为这项工程的主要承包商。
• 他声称中国铁建国际集团有限公司(CRCC）确保工程完工的承诺确认书是不合法的，因为中国铁建的承诺并没有盖上印花，事实上，上述合约已经盖上印花，而中国铁建的承诺合约的一部分。
魏家祥继续撒谎，他现在声称槟城政府将这个价值63亿令吉的道路及海底隧道合约颁发给成立只有82天的特别用途公司（SPV），这家公司也没有州政府所说的45亿令吉缴足资本。 魏家祥还说，槟州政府错误陈述槟城海底隧道公司的股东，因为中国铁建和北京城建从来不是股东。这是不对的，因为北京城建原本是股东，但是他们后来被允许退出。
在大型工程项目方面，投资者可以由多家公司组成一个特别用途公司，这不只布城允许，全世界各地也允许。Zenith Consortium 是一家特别为了这项工程，由本地和外国公司联合成立的土著公司，缴足资本达3亿8100万令吉，符合这项工程的资格。
魏家祥说Zenith Consortium 并没有达到最低缴足资本3亿8100万令吉的需求，这是错误的，他完全忽略了Zenith Consortium 是通过公开招标获得合约的。当公开招标委员会是由州秘书负责领导由其它公务员组成，何来槟州领袖从中获得数千万令吉的回扣？这项贪污调查很明显地是国阵要以莫须有罪名进行政治迫害，以破坏槟州政府的名誉，来应付来届大选。
魏家祥也说，Zenith Consortium在2013年被颁予合约时，正面临财务问题。对此，我们无法代表有关公司回应，由州秘书领导的槟州公开招标委员会在当时做了正确的决定，因为事隔五年后的今天，这家被指曾经陷入财务困境的公司还在继续操作，没有破产。
魏家祥还说错一件事，就是中国铁建所签署的文件纯粹只是一封承诺意向书。魏家祥说，承诺意向书只是一种支持文件或纯粹供参考的文件，事实上，它明明就是合约的一部分或主要协议。魏家祥还进一步说谎，不愿意承认中国铁建也在主要合约中，与州政府和Zenith Consortium签约，成为这项公司的承包商。换句话说，中国铁建签了两次。
中国铁建的承包商角色是主要合约的一部分，盖上印花后的法律效应涵盖中国铁建的承诺意向。只有魏家祥才会说必须在合约的每一页盖上印花、合约才具法律效应。这也是为什么魏家祥故意不为自己说谎道歉，他一时说合约没有盖上印花、一时又说中国铁建完工的承诺不具法律效应因为文件上面没有盖上印花。
魏家祥如此穷途末路，要把中国铁建排除掉，因为中国铁建是合约的一部分，有关合约是州政府在2013年10月29日与Zenith Consortium签署的。就连中国铁建也曾于2018年1月20日在英文《星报》发表文告，确认中国铁建是这项工程的主要承包商，魏家祥也引用过这篇文告。
换句话说，这是一种包含州政府、Zenith Consortium为股东、中国铁建为主要承包商的“三方协议”。为了敲定中国铁建为主要承包商，中国铁建还在合约内附上一份完工承诺意向书，等于双重保证。确认中国铁建为主要承包商是非常重要的，这可以确保工程的成功，不仅仅是确保如此大型计划的财务可行性，也确保他们提供必要的技术及专才。
总之，有了中国铁建签署的合约，加上印花，这就是整项工程背后多家公司拥有缴足资本45亿令吉的正当性，并合法地承诺这项计划将会完工。这也是为什么，北京城建虽然做为Zenith Consortium的股东，但中国铁建做为主要承包商更加关键，因为主要承包商必须确保工程顺利完工。
林冠英