In his reply to my earlier comment, MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong said I was like a “drowning man clutching straws” in that I was making a kind of last-ditch effort to defend the “scandalous” Penang tunnel project.

He advised me to “stay out of it” as I might be dragged into the scandal.

As a member of the Penang state government, I have every right to defend its policies. I am not blindly supporting the government because the allegations that are constantly hurled against it are petty, half-truths, fabrications, distortions and outright lies.

I am not “drowning”, neither is my party or political coalition that I would resort to the desperate tactic of “grabbing straws” to defend the Penang tunnel project.

It is MCA and its politicians who are so desperate to stay relevant that they have to re-invent their “brilliance” before such a flare-up dissipates.

I would have respected Wee if he had taken a stand against the infamous 1MDB and other financial scandals that have plagued the country. He might not be involved, but he, like other senior BN politicians, prefers to remain silent.

While I can understand that MCA wants to make a serious comeback after having misled the Chinese community for years, it’s a bit too late for it to ingratiate itself with them.

Let me answer some of the serious allegations that Wee has raised. I believe I might inadvertently repeat things that either I or Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng have touched on before, but sometimes it is worth repeating things to drive home the point.

First, Wee seriously erred in saying that CRCC was a partner in the special purpose vehicle (SPV) rather than a mere contractor. As was revealed by the Penang government, CRCC signed a contract which was duly signed and stamped. But Wee insisted that CRCC was more than a contractor as it had an equity stake in the SPV. Is Wee ready to own up to his mistake?

Second, he made another serious allegation that with the exit of BUCG, the SPV brought in a local fashion company with no experience in transport infrastructure as an equity partner with Consortium Zenith. This has been explained several times, but the problem is that Wee refuses to listen to what we have to say.

Regarding the 40% share held by nominees, is he telling us that some mysterious companies have come to determine the nature of events in Penang?

Third, Wee asks why the Penang government failed to cancel the agreement with the SPV for having diluted its shares. Is it normal industry practice that if there is a dilution of shares as the result of the exit of some shareholders, the earlier agreement becomes null and void? Is this logical?

Fourth, the issue of pre-selling 50 acres of land rights to the SPV and the subsequent sale to a listed company resulted in millions in profit. As we have pointed out numerous times, there was no such thing as the pre-selling of land rights to Consortium Zenith. It serves no purpose to go into this fictitious and bizarre allegation.

Finally, Wee poses this question: If the cost to produce reports for the roads is around RM129 million (project cost being RM377 million), why are reports for the undersea tunnel project, costing RM3.6 billion, around RM96 million when the project is much more costly and complicated?

I am not sure where Wee obtained the figure of RM129 million. It must be a figment of his creative imagination. We have always maintained that the cost of the detailed design and feasibility study for the three major roads and tunnel amounted to RM305 million, and not as erroneously stated by Wee.

These serious allegations against the Penang government and the SPV seem to be taking place on a “non-level playing field”.

The MACC’s involvement in the investigation has emboldened Wee and other BN leaders, who think the Penang government can be brought to its knees by this combined investigative and political assault.

Sadly, MACC detects a tiny speck from far away but misses the “elephant” in front of its eyes.

Let the people of Penang judge whether the state government is telling the truth or hoodwinking the public. D-Day is not too far off for them to make their ultimate decision.

After having ruined Penang for more than 50 years, it is not for BN politicians to tell the people what is good or bad for them.

I seriously doubt that they are prepared to give political parties like Umno, MCA, Gerakan or MIC another chance in Penang.

While the people of Penang might be the ultimate judge, the Penang state government is not going absorb whatever is dished out to them from politicians who have little or no credibility.

P Ramasamy is Penang deputy chief minister II.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.