Penang Gerakan questions on the selling of PDC's shares in TIRSB to ideal
GEORGE TOWN: Penang Gerakan has questioned the Penang state government's decision to sell the Penang Development Corporation's (PDC) 49% shares in Tropical Resort Sdn Bhd (TIRSB) to the Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd (Ideal).
State Gerakan chairman Teng Chang Yeow said allegations that the PDC had accepted UDA Holdings Bhd's (UDA) offer to sell its stake in TIRSB to Ideal was not true.
"Can UDA offer to sell PDC shares when PDC is the rightful owner? UDA is not the owner of the 49% shares. The PDC is the legitimate owner of 49% shares.
"Nobody can offer to sell your shares to someone else without you offering to sell it in the first place," he told a press conference, here today.
Yesterday, in a statement issued by PDC, it said that the state development agency had accepted an offer by UDA to sell its stake in TIRSB to Ideal for RM156 million.
PDC General Manager Datuk Rosli Jaafar said UDA had brought in Ideal to jointly develop their project and also buy out PDC's 49% stake in accordance with PDC's conditions.
TIRSB, a joint venture between UDA and PDC, which holds a 51% and 49% stake respectively, was appointed by Bestari Hospitality Management to operate the resort in Pulau Jerejak in 2004.
On Thursday, Penang Gerakan questioned the state government's plans on the enormous future development on Pulau Jerejak.
Teng said the argument that UDA got in Ideal to buy out PDC's shares in TIRSB was nonsense instead it was PDC that proposed to UDA to sell off UDA's shares in TIRSB.
"TIRSB entered into a Joint Venture Agreement with Ideal to redevelop Pulau Jerejak in December 2013.
According to our source in PDC the joint venture was rejected by the chief minister," he said.
He said as a shareholder, although PDC in minority, the consent is still needed and federal government has no power to bulldoze through the project if the state government strongly objected to the plan and refused to grant planning and building approval.
"This is not a gun point deal where the state must accept whatever UDA proposes unless the DAP-led state government and chief minister have become subservient to Umno and the federal government," he said. — Bernama