GEORGE TOWN, Oct 9 — Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has been accused today of making a misleading statement by his own special economic adviser Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon and former deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy.

In a joint statement, the duo said Chow’s statement on the direct award of Byram Industrial Park project to UMECH Construction Sdn Bhd dated October 3 was misleading and unfair.

"We found the said statement misleading, unfair and cause harm to our professional reputation for the following reasons,” they said before listing out five reasons explaining a meeting held on November 28, 2022 by a special committee that they were part of.

Chow, in his statement, had claimed that the selection of UMECH was done according to procedures and careful due diligence.

He said a special committee was formed to scrutinise UMECH’s proposal and the committee consisted of the then deputy chief ministers I and II, the then state exco Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain and Lee.

Chow said the committee held a discussion on November 28 last year and that based on recommendations from the committee, the proposed collaboration with UMECH was brought up to the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) board meeting for approval on February 9 this year.

Lee and Ramasamy said the meeting on November 28 was not a due diligence meeting to evaluate whether UMECH was suitable to be awarded the contract.

"Neither was there any terms of reference for the so-called special committee. In fact, it was a meeting for UMECH to provide further details about their proposed development,” they said.

They said the meeting decided that UMECH was to carry out a market survey and to study the composition of land usage.

The meeting also decided that proof of UMECH’s financial sustainability has to be evaluated, among other related matters, they said.

"The said meeting also directed the PDC management to re-table to the PDC board for further deliberation after all the above information had been obtained,” they said.

They pointed out that the meeting was chaired by Chow himself.

Last week, Chow issued a statement to explain the direct award of the project by PDC to UMECH after the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) raised concerns over the sale of the land for an alleged RM646.02 million that the chamber claimed was significantly below the value of the land.

PCCC president Datuk Seri Hong Yeam Wah reportedly demanded to know why the deal was not done through open tender.

In his statement responding to PCCC, Chow said the project was awarded to UMECH after a business matching exercise at Expo Dubai 2020.

He claimed the land was located near Pulau Burung landfill with a path that garbage trucks often frequent so it was difficult to attract investors for the project.

He said it was why the project was promoted at the Expo Dubai 2020 and that UMECH had voiced their interest during a business matching session at the event.

Malay Mail is seeking Chow’s response to Lee and Ramasamy’s allegations.