The federal project was handed over to the state government on Dec 26 last year despite it being only partially complete. The MDEP was to have been completed in 2016.
“The main beneficiaries of the MDEP are 1.774 million people and all the businesses that operate in Penang. And not the state government or PBA,” PBA reminded Putrajaya in a statement today.
“According to the Malaysian Statistics Department, Penang contributed RM94.7 billion to the national GDP in 2019.
“As such, it is irresponsible for anyone to ask the federal government to stop the completion of the MDEP over a political disagreement,” it said in reference to comments made by former prime minister Najib Razak after Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow called for Putrajaya to complete the last two phases of the MDEP as promised.
Najib said if Chow wanted the federal government to continue with the dam expansion project, former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng should apologise for allegedly using the restructuring issue as political propaganda.
Najib claimed Lim had used the restructuring as proof of DAP’s ability to manage its economy by reducing the state’s debts by 95%.
“That reduction of debt had nothing to do with the DAP-led government’s management but came about after the Barisan Nasional government agreed to give a free grant for the Mengkuang dam worth RM1.2 billion and converting the state’s debt into annual instalments so that it was no longer technically classified as debt,” he said.
PBA said any water crisis might potentially upset Penang’s contributions in federal tax payments in prolonged dry seasons.
It pointed out that the incomplete project’s expenses fell more than RM300 million short of its RM1.2 billion budget.
“The federal government is now mulling allocating RM100 million to replace a barrage in Rantau Panjang which was commissioned in 1973. Please note that the RM1.2 billion federal grant signed off in 2011 is more than enough to complete the MDEP and build the new barrage.”
The PBA stressed that it was simply asking the federal government to complete the MDEP, and not asking it to fork out more money.
“The dam expansion is a water supply project for the benefit of the people and the businesses here.
“The federal government should prioritise it as an essential public service, especially in this pandemic.”