GEORGE TOWN - Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon has resigned as the Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang on Oct 2.
Chow said he received the letter of resignation as the Special Investment Advisor to the Chief Minister of Penang with a one-month notice and Lee also tendered his resignation as board member of Invest Penang.
According to him, Lee has expressed his readiness to relinquish any or all the positions held by him, namely board member of Invest Penang, Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and Penang Hill Corporation.
"On behalf of the Penang government, I wish to record our greatest appreciation to Lee for his significant contribution to the development of the state of Penang," he said in statement today.
Chow said that on Aug 14 this year, Lee had sent him a congratulatory message on his swearing in as Chief Minister for the second term.
"On 26th September 2023, I informed Dato Seri Lee Kah Choon that he has been replaced as director of PDC following a new appointment to the said Board and he replied he understood the situation," he said, adding that Lee had shared with him even before the general election that he wished to spend time to focus on private interests.
Meanwhile, on the award of the Byram Industrial Park project to UMECH Construction Sdn Bhd, Chow said PDC had conducted due diligence continuously based on decisions made during a meeting held by a special committee on Nov 28, last year.
He said PDC had conducted official investigations into the company’s registration, company profile, experience and UMECH was required to bring forward credit facilities support documents from financial institutions as proof of the company’s financial background.
"The Board of Directors had held meetings to discuss and obtain the latest information on the project on Aug 19 (2022), Oct 28 (2022), Dec 8 (2022), Feb 9 (2023) and April 11 (2023)," he said.
Chow explained that the PDC board meeting 5/2022 dated Oct 28, 2022, made the decision that UMECH has to make a detailed presentation regarding its development concept to the board members during a special meeting on Nov 28.
"Therefore, a presentation session was scheduled on Nov 28 that was chaired by me and attended by then deputy chief minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman, then deputy chief minister II P. Ramasamy, Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain and Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon," he said.
Earlier today, Lee and former Penang Deputy Chief Minister II, P. Ramasamy had alleged that Chow’s statement on the Nov 28 meeting was misleading, unfair and caused harm to their professional reputations. - BERNAMA