In a joint statement, Ramasamy and Lee said Chow’s previous statement about the land deal was “unfair and caused harm to their professional reputation”.

On Oct 3, Chow alleged that the decision by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) to sell the land to UMECH Construction Sdn Bhd (Umech) had been made with “due diligence”.

PDC is a statutory body set up by the Penang government and is chaired by Chow.

Chow had also claimed that a “small committee”, which comprised Ramasamy, Lee, former deputy chief minister Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman and former state executive council member Abdul Halim Hussain, met on Nov 28, 2022, to discuss Umech’s proposal.

Chow went on to say that the said “committee” had raised the proposed collaboration with Umech for PDC to approve on Feb 9.

Ramasamy and Lee claimed that the meeting, which was chaired by Chow, was not intended to evaluate whether Umech was suitable to be awarded the contract.

“In fact, it was a meeting for Umech to provide further details about their proposed development.”

They added that it was decided in the meeting that Umech was to carry out a market survey, study the composition of land usage and provide proof of its financial sustainability.

Ramasamy and Lee also claimed that during the meeting, PDC’s management was told to “re-table to the PDC board” for further deliberation after the necessary information had been obtained.

Chow had previously said that PDC initially wanted to enter into a joint venture to develop an industrial park but no company voiced interest in the project.

Umech then expressed interest in developing the land when the idea was floated by a Penang delegation at the 2020 Dubai Expo.

The company managed to convince PDC that it would be financially supported by a funder from Dubai.

Chow also said getting investors for the project was a challenge as the land was next to the Pulau Burung landfill.

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