Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng is now in the spotlight as he has received a statement from a key witness in the Penang undersea tunnel project corruption trial, sparking impeachment proceedings. Lim’s counsel, Haijan Omar, has informed the Sessions Court that the defence team received the statement by Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli. This statement was given to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for another case in Shah Alam.
Judge Azura Alwi has set Feb 26 as the date for the impeachment proceedings to begin, after having allowed the defence to commence these proceedings on Jan 9. In court, she listed the 31 pages of the statement that would be used for the proceedings
The document is intended for the defence and will be used to impeach Zarul Ahmad for his conflicting statements in this court and the previous Shah Alam case involving businessman G. Gnanaraja. Zarul Ahmad’s statement had been produced in a separate trial in Shah Alam in 2019, where Gnanaraja was charged with cheating Zarul Ahmad in a different case.
Zarul Ahmad had earlier told this court that RM2mil was given to Lim in a cash cheque for the Penang undersea tunnel and road construction project, while another RM2mil in cash had been given to Gnanaraja for it to be delivered to former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The defence team’s then-lead counsel, Gobind Singh Deo, disputed this claim, noting that Zarul Ahmad had previously stated in the Shah Alam Sessions Court that the RM2mil was only meant for Najib. According to the prosecution, Zarul Ahmad later “rectified” his statement to MACC concerning the Shah Alam case.
Lim, 63, is facing an amended charge of using his position as then-Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes as an inducement to assist Zarul Ahmad in securing the undersea tunnel project worth RM6,341,383,702. He allegedly committed the offence at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office between January 2011 and August 2017.
In the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a bribe of 10% of the profit from the company as gratification to secure the project. The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here, in March 2011.
Lim also faces two further charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8mil, belonging to the Penang government, to be disposed of to two companies linked to the state’s undersea tunnel project. These are significant allegations and Lim is now facing a challenging legal battle.
