Lim seeks ACA update on dubious Penang land deals

GEORGE TOWN: 

The Penang Government has asked the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for an update on its investigations into questionable land deals in Penang.

Chief minister Lim Guan Eng said today he would be meeting ACA officials this Friday to discuss the matter.

"The (questionable) land deals happened many years ago. I understand the ACA has not completed its investigations. I want to know why decisions (about the land deals) were made in that manner," he said after chairing the state executive council meeting.

Lim said this when asked to comment on his statement recently that the newly formed state government had uncovered discrepancies in the previous administration.

He said the discrepancies, mainly involving land matters, could lead to huge financial losses for Penang.
In another development, Lim said the state government hoped the federal government would restore the original allocation for Penang under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

The amount had been substantially reduced since last year and he hoped to discuss it with prime minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"We want to discuss this and also get the prime minister's assurance on the continuance of federal projects,” he said. "We are hoping the original allocation can be reinstated," he said, adding the state government had written to Abdullah about the matter and hoped a meeting would be arranged soon.

--NST