GEORGE TOWN ( Nov 3, 2008) : The Penang government has defended its role in the failure of the Asean Cultural Expo here, by claiming it had been conned into the project by someone posing as an official from Malaysia Tourism Executive Sdn Bhd (Matex).

Danny Law

State executive councillor Danny Law said an individual who identified himself as "Shah Mokhtar" had approached his office earlier this year to persuade the state to allow the expo at the state-owned Pesta site here.

Law said "Shah Mokhtar" has since disappeared and cannot be contacted.

"He came to us with a Matex company profile and even paid us RM50,000 deposit towards rental of the Pesta site for the expo," Law told a press conference today.

Law said "Shah Mokhtar" even promised that Matex would invest RM2 million to upgrade and renovate the Pesta site in Sungai Nibong for the expo.

The event later turned out to be a flop with barely 20 stalls opened, and few visitors turning up.

Power supply to the expo was cut in mid Oct after the Pesta site secretariat failed to obtain the RM80,000 deposit for electricity from Matex.

Matex later issued a media statement claiming it had nothing to do with the management of the Asean Cultural Centre.

When contacted yesterday, a Matex spokesperson said the company had no links with the Pesta site or the event.

"We also do not have any staff by the name of Shah Mokhtar," she said.

It is learnt that "Shah Mokhtar" sublet the whole expo to two other companies, which in turn got vendors to rent the stalls, before he disappeared.

The state only noticed something amiss when the renovations and upgrading that were promised did not materialise, and that the event had not been properly managed, Law said.

Asked if the state was planning to lodge a police report, Law said Matex had already made a report claiming fraud and that the police are now investigating.

He said the state had conducted necessary checks on "Shah Mokhtar" and did not find anything suspicious, especially as he had paid the deposit.

Asked if the state had contacted Matex for clarification, Law said his office was attempting to arrange a meeting with them.

Law is now hoping to get another company to take over and manage the site, for it to be opened again later this month.

"This time, we just want the traders who had paid the rentals for their stalls to recover their losses," he said.

 

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