Penang Gerakan Acting Youth Chief Jason Loo said it had applied for the state executive council’s minutes via the state’s Freedom of Information Enactment (FOI).
He said requests by the party for clarification on the matter had not been entertained.
“Since the chief minister has refused to disclose the truth on the removal of BUCG from the consortium, we want to remind people that he has not been telling the truth on the matter which has puzzled the rakyat for a month,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.
BUCG was part of a tripartite consortium that won the bid for the George Town-Butterworth undersea tunnel and three paired roads project.
However, it was forced to bow out from the project over a fatal worksite accident in Kuala Lumpur in which a crane hook fell on a passing motorist.
The Consortium Zenith-BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) consists of China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC), as the main contractor, Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and BUCG.
It was learnt that BUCG held the smallest share in the consortium.
It was previously reported that the consortium’s shareholders were Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd with 99.13% equity, Juteras Sdn Bhd (0.863%) and BUCG (0.0057%).
The undersea tunnel will be built, pending an environmental study, slated to be completed in October this year.
Meanwhile, Loo claimed Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s statements on BUCG’s exit were contradictory.
Loo said Lim’s press conference on Sept 6 had indicated the chief minister had “issued a directive” to drop BUCG from the joint venture consortium company.
Loo said Lim later said the consortium itself had applied for BUCG to be purged. This got the green light from the Penang executive council, chaired by the chief minister.
“Today, we would like to submit newspaper cuttings regarding the statements from the crane accident victim’s family, to him personally, reminding him that he has not been telling the public the truth on the matter that has puzzled the people for a month.”
On Aug 30, Lim was reported to have said the Penang Government would not “allow itself and Malaysians to be bullied” by the construction company.
Lim had told BUCG to “dream on” if it wanted to carry on with the undersea tunnel project if there was no proper explanation after the crane hook accident.
“Penang will not tolerate such an attitude. If you have done something wrong, you will have to be responsible for it.
“I want to tell the contractor — no matter where you are from — if you do not have an explanation, please do not dream of getting a project in Penang,” Lim was quoted by Sin Chew Daily earlier this month.
In the Aug 25 incident, Chin Khoon Sing, who is from Noordin Street, George Town, died on the spot after a crane hook fell on her Perodua Kelisa in Jalan Raja Chulan, Kuala Lumpur.
The hook fell from a 20-storey hotel under construction next to a shopping complex there.
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