The Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) has lodged request under the Freedom of Information Act 2012 (FOIA) with the Penang government, asking for details on the Penang highway, tunnel and public transport projects.

C4 said that in its application which is a test case of the FOIA which was passed by the state legislative assembly on Nov 4, 2011 and gazetted on Feb 2, 2012, it is asking for two things.

"First was information on the agreement signed between the Penang state government and Zenith BUCG to carry out the feasibility studies, the environmental impact assessment report (EIA), the detailed designs of the three proposed highways and the undersea bed tunnel.

"Secondly, information was also requested on the detailed cost related to these projects," said C4 in a statement.

The transparency watchdog explained that it put the mega project in its cross hairs as it is of great concern to all Penangites, given the scarcity of land and the magnitude of the project which raised economic and environmental concerns.

C4 said Georgetown does not have a local plan for the city, despite having a traffic master plan.

Without an overall plan for the city, it added, the traffic master plan may result in skewed planning and serious deficiencies in the long term.

FOI costs too high

The NGO also noted the worry of civil society groups on conflict of interest issues, putting into question serious doubt on the independence of the project, awarding of contracts, study and overall impact.

C4 said it is encouraged by the answers provided by the state government to Umno minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan on the matter, but hoped that the bar will be raised and all information requested released.

"The state government has assured us that it would reply to these questions within 14 working days. We will study the agreement and cost involved in full upon receiving these documents," said the NGO.

Though while it observed that the application process was smooth, they pointed out that the fee for application is very high and may act as an impediment to those seeking information.

"The primary goal of an access to information act must be to allow for better scrutiny by the public, and for greater openness in the way the government runs its business, hence we recommend for these barriers to be dutifully removed," concluded C4.