The state Gerakan says documents to the project is so secretly guarded that one has to make an appointment to see it and that too only for two hours.
GEORGE TOWN: It seems that the documents and plans of the subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE) is kept under lock and key.
The state government of Lim Guan Eng has taken a ‘for your eyes only’ stance when it comes to public viewing of the documents of the RM300 million project.
Baljit Singh, who heads Penang Gerakan legal and human rights bureau, wants to know why the state government is so secretive about the documents.
Baljit said the agreement proper can only be viewed by appointment at the island’s municipality office.
He said each person was allotted only two hours to view the important documents, and making photocopies and taking snapshots are not allowed.
He said each person was only allowed to write down notes within the alotted time.
Baljit said this was not in line with Lim’s much-hyped CAT government of competency, accountability and transparency .
He challenged Lim to allow the people to buy and scrutinise the contract and project details of the proposed sPICE project.
“At least the CAT government should allow public to buy and view the documents. After all, isn’t the project of important public interests.
“I am sure independent and right thinking Penangites would love to buy and analyse what is the sPICE scandal all about,” he told FMT.
Baljit also asked on why Lim’s government failed to make public the entire agreement on MPPP website.
The sPICE project was to transform and refurbish the 24-acre Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) site in Relau, in the process turning a public sports facility to an exclusive club for the rich and elite.
Once built, sPICE would have an international convention centre, an aquatic centre and a posh hotel.
sPICE developer Eco-Meridian Sdn Bhd (EMSB), a subsidiary of SP Setia Bhd will be given a 60-year leasehold ownership.
CM: A worthy investment
Critics including NGOs have slammed the project as a waste of public funds, unfeasible, unviable and illogical.
Built at a cost of RM105 million 11 years ago by the previous Gerakan-led BN state government, PISA is the largest fully air-conditioned multi-purpose indoor venue in the northern Peninsular.
Critics have argued that the Lim’s government should instead upgrade, promote and market PISA into a profitable venture by organising domestic and international activities that could draw in the tourist dollars.
However, Lim claimed sPICE would be a worthy investment in tandem with his administration’s goal of turning George Town into an “international and intelligent” city.
Speaking to reporters in parliament today, Lim also lashed out at the BN critics of the project, saying that the agreement was only for 30 years and not 60 as being claimed by the state BN. He said he will reveal more in a press conference in Penang soon.
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