Penang vows to continue LRT even without Putrajaya’s guarantee

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow says Dr Mahathir Mohamad had written to him last year confirming
Putrajaya would guarantee the loan. – The Malaysian Insight file pic, December 1, 2020.

PENANG will continue building the Komtar-Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) line despite Putrajaya’s refusal to guarantee a RM2.04 billion loan. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state has other financing options for the project under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

“Penang will not give up, instead we will continue with the project as we have several financing options. “I regret that the Finance Ministry has three times stated its stance rejecting the application for a loan and guarantee amounting to RM2 billion for the LRT project.

“I would like to remind the Finance Ministry and Perikatan Nasional that former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has stated in his letter to me dated October 1, 2019, that the bonds by the state government in relation to the project will be guaranteed by the federal government,” he said.

In a parliamentary written reply to Chow dated November 25, PN Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said the government would not guarantee Penang’s RM2.04 billion loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), citing the need to review Putrajaya’s finances in view of Covid-19.

However, yesterday Zafrul said the loan guarantee was never given in the first place as ADB never submitted a due diligence report on the RM9.5 billion project to the cabinet.

Chow said opposition-led Penang will continue to impress upon the federal government abut the state’s role in the national economy.

“Penang has always and continues to play an important role by winning foreign direct investment (FDI) of the country’s manufacturing sector and has created thousands of employment opportunities, not only to the people of this state but also the north of peninsular Malaysia,” he said.

Chow added that he had conveyed the same message to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed during a discussion session on the allocation of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMK12) to Penang, a day after receiving Zafrul’s reply. – December 1, 2020.