KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 15 — An Umno lawmaker said today he had proof that state-owned land in Bayan Mutiara had been sold cheaply without tender.

Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has vehemently denied Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s claims, and said the state government picked the highest bidder, Ivory Properties Groups Bhd, which had offered RM240 per square foot, or a total of RM1.07 billion, to be paid up in five years.

“But the price was decided after negotiations between Ivory Properties, the Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI) and Penang Development Centre (PDC).

“The term ‘negotiations’ was used by Ivory in its submission to Bursa Malaysia. It is a publicly available document,” Abdul Rahman (picture) told The Malaysian Insider.

“Why should Ivory say the price of land was decided through negotiations between CMI and PDC? I thought it was supposed to be open tender, not direct negotiation? What happened to competency, accountability and transparency?” asked the Umno lawmaker.

Abdul Rahman also alleged that the Bayan Mutiara land was sold below the market price given by property valuer Henry Butcher.

“Henry Butcher valued the land at RM1.079 billion, but it was sold at RM1.072 billion, lower than the appraised price,” said the Sabah Umno leader.

He demanded that Lim provide details of the land purchase and stop “politicising” the matter.

“This is not a case of Umno attacking him (Lim) or DAP ... this is a question of public interest. This matter has been raised by many NGOs in Penang.

“Penang has had a proud history of NGO movements that are well-established. Are you saying we cannot question your administration?” said Abdul Rahman.

The Penang CM has said the 102.6-acre plot — located near the Penang Bridge, the free trade zone and the Penang International Airport — was sold in 2010 only following a request for proposal (RFP) as advertised in newspapers.

He stressed this was higher than the land value estimated by state development arm PDC.