Penang govt urged to release documents on Gurney Drive reclamation projects

State Gerakan vice-chairman Lee Boon Ten said the state government should declassify the documents and reclamation contracts, to make these available to the people.

He said after providing inconsistent figures on the Gurney Drive, Seri Tanjung Pinang (STP1) and STP2 projects, the state government must release the documents now.

"We are still waiting for the outcome of our application made via the Freedom of Information Act. If there is nothing to hide, the state government should just make the contract documents available for the people of Penang to scrutinise.

"The people deserve the right to know what is happening at Gurney Drive, how the land has been compensated and how big is the actual reclamation size," he told reporters, here, Wednesday.

On March 14, state Gerakan Acting Youth chief Jason Loo requested for the reclamation documents under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and it is still waiting for the outcome, expected to be known early this month.

However, Lee said the documents did not belong to the state government but to the people of Penang and public interest demanded that the documents be released.

"With the release of the documents, we can get a clearer picture on the projects and how these can benefit the people," he said.

It was reported last week that state Housing, Town and Country Planning and Housing Committee chairman, Jagdeep Singh Deo clarified that only 131 acres (53 hectares) would be reclaimed along the Gurney Drive foreshore by a developer for the state.

He said an extra 60 acres (24 hectares) of a 760-acre (307-hectare) island to be created offshore under the Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase Two (STP2) project would also be given to the state, bringing the total to 191 acres (77 hectares).