Former economist Lim Mah Hui today hit back at state executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari, rejecting claims that his past criticism of the Setia Spice Convention Centre in Bayan Lepas, Penang, had been proven wrong.
Lim said he never opposed the construction of a large convention centre in Penang, but was against the way the project was structured.
“At no time did I say Penang did not need a large convention centre. What others and I said was that it is not the business of the government to build convention centres. Let private developers do it.
“But if the government enters into such projects through public-private partnerships, it should secure adequate benefits,” he said in a statement.
Zairil had dismissed Lim as a naysayer, claiming the former economist wrongly predicted that the Setia Spice Convention Centre would become a white elephant.
Lim today said the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) had handed land to SP Setia under a long lease, paid RM50 million in public funds, and granted extra perks such as development charge waivers and permission to build at a higher density than normally allowed for the developer’s other projects.
SP Setia only paid for a three-acre hotel plot, he said, which was sold at RM100 per square foot, a rate seen as below market value.
“For RM100 million, what does our government get in return? A right to use the convention facilities for free for 42 days per year. Is this a balanced agreement?” Lim asked.
“If Zairil claims the Setia Spice Convention Centre is a roaring financial success, then it validates our position even more. Our government has been taken to the cleaners,” he said.
The deal, signed in 2011, gave SP Setia a 30-year concession with the option of a further 30-year extension. The complex today includes an arena, hotel, aquatic centre and underground convention centre.
Lim also hit back at Zairil’s wider defence of large projects like flyovers and the Penang LRT, accusing the state of pushing “mega infrastructure that exceeds our needs”.
“People in Penang keep hearing the tired line that we need the LRT because there’s not enough road space for buses. But don’t the huge pylons for LRT tracks take up at least one lane too?” he said.
He said better and cheaper options like buses with dedicated lanes and autonomous rapid transit (bus-tram hybrid) systems could solve traffic faster and at a lower cost.
Lim said that Singapore’s buses carry more passengers than its MRT, 3.7 million a day versus 3.2 million, while Penang only runs 200 to 300 buses.
He also asked why Penang had not followed through with other ideas like a water taxi service, which would have used the state’s natural layout and avoided costly land works.
