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GEORGE TOWN: The replacement of the Penang ferries was ordered by the former Pakatan Harapan government, Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said today, rejecting DAP’s accusations of “political revenge” behind the “cancellation” of several projects. Of transport.
In a post tonight, Wee said the decision to replace the old double-decker ferries was “actually initiated and approved by the then PH government. I just continued it because I feel like it’s a good thing and it will benefit people, ”he said.
Wee and the Transport Ministry made separate statements in response to DAP allegations that there were political reasons behind the changes in Penang’s transport projects.
Yesterday, Bagan deputy Lim Guan Eng, who is DAP secretary general, and his sister Lim Hui Ying, who is a Penang senator, said that Penangites had been victims when the new Perikatan Nasional government took office. They claimed that all transportation-related projects requiring federal approval or funding had been eliminated.
Guan Eng said it was not a coincidence as the Ministry of Transport was under Wee, who is also president of the MCA.
The DAP has also launched a signature campaign against the so-called closure of projects.
However, the Transport Ministry said that Penang’s ferry services were never canceled but simply restructured as older ferries were prone to breakdown and were not viable in the long term.
Newer ferries in the form of water buses and motorcycle vehicle transporters will be operational in July 2022.
The ministry also said that Hui Ying had proposed to the Dewan Negara last month that the old ferries become “a floating restaurant, museum or tourist cruise ship” and that the Penang Port Commission had similarly proposed that the last two ferries of two floors to become a museum or restaurant, pending request for a proposal from any interested party.
The ministry and Wee also dealt with DAP’s claims about a proposed Penang airport expansion project and a proposed LRT line from George Town to the airport.
Wee said the airport had been approved by the previous Barisan Nasional government in the 2018 budget.
The ministry said the expansion project had not been canceled as suggested by DAP, but was on hold pending review in light of low demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic and issues related to land acquisition.
The aviation crisis had affected the ability of airport operator Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd to finance any expansion. The government was reconsidering all airport expansions in light of international forecasts that civil aviation would recover only in 2024.
On the Bayan Lepas LRT project, the ministry said it had not yet received social and environmental impact assessment reports, making it impossible to approve the project. The ministry said it was also unable to grant “partial approvals” for specific separate portions of the proposed rail line, adding that this was already reported to the state government in November last year.
Wee said the Perikatan Nasional government had revoked the permission granted by Lim, as finance minister, for a $ 500 million loan from the Asian Development Bank to finance the project.
He said that the Penang state government had announced several times that it had the capacity to fund the RM46 billion project. “The door for negotiations is still open for Guan Eng to discuss with the finance minister the assistance of the federal government if he has a lower loan,” he said.
Wee also spoke about the proposed Penang Hill cable car project, which was allegedly another political victim.
He said that the project was not the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport, but of the Ministry of Tourism. “I did not participate and I had nothing to do (with the cable car project),” he said.
