Broken promise: Why should Penang voters trust the DAP-led government again?

The Protect Karpal Singh Drive action committee (ProtectKarpal), under the Bandar Sri Pinang Pulau Pinang Residents’ Association, is deeply disappointed by the Penang state government’s decision to grant PLB Engineering Berhad yet another extension of time, this time until 18 October, for the Jelutong landfill project.

This is no longer simply about another extension. It is about whether a public promise made by the chief minister can still be trusted.

At a dialogue with residents on 24 June 2025, the chief minister gave a clear assurance: no further extension would be granted if the developer failed to obtain approval for the environmental impact assessment by 28 February 2026.

Yet another extension of time has now been approved.

ProtectKarpal therefore asks: if a clear commitment can be changed when the deadline arrives, why should voters trust their election promises?

Six years of extensions

The joint development agreement was signed on 21 February 2020.

Under the agreement, PLB was required to secure key approvals, including the environmental, traffic and social impact assessments, within about 18 months.

These were conditions precedent, and failure to fulfil them gave the state and the Penang Development Corporationcontractual grounds to terminate the agreement.

Instead, the agreement has survived through repeated extensions.

ProtectKarpal’s review of Bursa disclosures identified a succession of extension applications or approvals from 2020 to 2026.

Six years later, the fundamental outcome remains unchanged: no environmental impact assessment approval, no commencement of the development and no meaningful rehabilitation of the landfill.

The state government must explain how many missed deadlines are acceptable before contractual consequences are finally enforced.

Why such exceptional accommodation?

The latest extension of time cannot be viewed in isolation. It forms part of a wider pattern that gives rise to legitimate questions about whether PLB has received seemingly exceptional accommodation.

First, PLB’s revised 2016 proposal contained no coastal reclamation.

Yet the 2020 joint development agreement subsequently introduced an “additional area” that emerged as about 70 acres of coastal reclamation, with a proposed 70:30 division favouring the developer.

Second, the 2021 PLB extraordinary general meeting circular disclosed that the original joint development agreement contained a time-based project management fee schedule totalling RM25m.

Subsequent it was reported that state executive council decisions revised the arrangement for the remaining RM20m and apparently tied payment to commencement of work. Because work has not commenced, the payment trigger has not been activated.

Third, PLB’s audited accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025 contained “material uncertainty related to going concern” warnings and substantial financial losses.

ProtectKarpal makes no allegation of insolvency, corruption or wrongdoing. However, three consecutive years of audited financial warnings should reasonably have triggered enhanced due diligence and a serious termination review.

Taken together with repeated extensions of time and prolonged non-commencement, Penangites are entitled to ask: why does this particular agreement continue to receive such extraordinary institutional patience?

This is now about political trust

The DAP has governed Penang since 2008 under the banner of competency, accountability and transparency.

Those principles matter most when difficult decisions must be made.

Accountability cannot mean continuously moving deadlines and broken promises.

Transparency cannot mean granting another extension without publishing the full basis for the decision.

Competency cannot mean preserving a six-year-old agreement while the landfill remains unrehabilitated.

ProtectKarpal does not tell Penangites how to vote. But every elected government must recognise a basic democratic reality: broken promises carry political consequences.

If the DAP-led state government expects Penang voters to believe its promises at the next election, it must demonstrate that promises made between elections also have meaning.

Immediate accountability

ProtectKarpal calls on the chief minister, the state executive council and the PDC to:

• Publish the full justification for the extension to 18 October 2026, including all outstanding technical conditions
• Publish the complete joint development agreement, all amendments, approvals for extensions of time, revised payment arrangements, PDC and state executive council papers, and all five non-approval documents for the environmental impact assessments
• Explain why repeated failure to fulfil key conditions has not resulted in termination
• Guarantee unequivocally that there will be no further extension after 18 October
• Prepare immediately for a lawful termination and a rehabilitation-only alternative without coastal reclamation
• Refer the joint development agreement, repeated extensions and financial exposure to the Penang Public Accounts Committee for independent scrutiny

ProtectKarpal’s chairperson Dr K Ganesh said: “This is ultimately about trust. When the chief minister says there will be no further extension, residents are entitled to believe him. If that promise changes when the deadline arrives, voters will naturally question the value of future promises.

“The joint development agreement has survived since 2020 through repeated extensions and extraordinary institutional patience. Penangites deserve to know why.

“Publish the documents. Explain the apparent special treatment. Honour the promise. If PLB fails again on 18 October, terminate the joint development agreement.”

The government cannot keep moving the deadline and expect public trust to remain unchanged.

Honour the promise. No more extensions. Publish the agreement. Protect the people. – ProtectKarpal

Support our work by making a donation. Tap to download the QR code below and scan this QR code from Gallery by using TnG e-wallet or most banking apps: