KUALA LUMPUR – Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has the backing of the state exco to sue tycoon Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping for allegedly defaming him, in remarks over the state’s land deal with Umech Construction Sdn Bhd (Umech).
The exco, which met today gave its unanimous agreement for Chow to proceed with legal action against Tan, who is Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce (PCCC) honorary life president, the chief minister said in a statement.
Tan is said to have made the remarks in a press conference yesterday where he reportedly called Chow “incompetent, ignorant and shameless”.
Chow said the exco agreed to the legal action as Tan’s remarks had been published in the media and brought disrepute to the chief minister’s office.
Tan had accused Chow for evading questions about a land sale in Batu Kawan at below market price by Penang Development Corporation (PDC), which Chow chairs, to Umech Construction.
Tan and PCCC had also contended that the deal was directly negotiated with Umech Construction, but the land would be sold to Umech Land to create an industrial park.
Chow, however, has said that he had replied to all questions on the matter, and that the deal had gone through the due diligence.
PDC terminated its deal with Umech Land the day before Tan’s press conference, citing major changes to the company’s equity structure, leading to a change in the controlling shareholder, which PDC said it could not accept. – October 19, 2023