In a statement today, Ewein said that its subsidiary, Ewein Land Sdn Bhd, had merely entered into a joint venture with Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd.
“Ewein did not acquire any land from the state government. The land is being developed jointly in a commercial transaction between Ewein Land and Consortium Zenith via a joint venture vehicle, Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd,” it said.
Ewein, via its subsidiary Ewein Zenith II Sdn Bhd, entered into an agreement to acquire the 1.78ha land (Lot 713) in Bandar Tanjong Pinang for RM162 million back in 2015.
“This land was acquired from Consortium Zenith and not from the state government. It was a commercial transaction and the details of the acquisition were announced to Bursa Malaysia,” it said.
The company added that Ewen Zenith II decided to terminate the agreement with Consortium Zenith as the land turned out to be smaller, at 0.81ha. The termination was communicated to Bursa Malaysia.
Ewein also clarified that the company had entered into a memorandum of agreement with Consortium Zenith to acquire the rights to purchase 20.2ha of to-be-reclaimed land in Gurney Drive in 2016.
“The 20.2ha land is part of a reclamation project by a company not connected to Ewein or any of its subsidiaries,” it said.
The statement was issued after the company’s group managing director (Ewe Swee Kheng) was remanded by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to assist in investigations into the Penang undersea tunnel project.
The Penang undersea tunnel project has been engulfed in controversy, including the high cost of implementation, payments involved in land conversion as well as protests from residents over the project, due to concerns over its economic, social and environmental impact.