KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 14): A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer (IO) told the Sessions Court on Tuesday that his investigation into Lim Guan Eng’s undersea tunnel graft trial showed that the award of the project to Consortium Zenith BUCG Construction Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) was more through direct negotiations rather than open tender as claimed.
MACC IO Senior Superintendent Zulhelmi Ramli, 33, said he recorded Lim’s statement of denial that he had abused his power as the then-Penang chief minister as Lim said the undersea tunnel project was based on open tender and that the decision was made following recommendations by Penang state government officers.
“Lim also denied soliciting and receiving bribes from CZBUCG director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli. However, in my investigation, the evidence and documents from witnesses showed otherwise,” he said.
Zulhelmi, who is the 38th prosecution witness, said his probe showed that the offence of abuse of position by Lim as the then-Penang CM involved assisting Zarul Ahmad and his company to get the project and also requesting a sum of money from Zarul Ahmad, resulting in two plots of government land being disposed of.
“The [undersea tunnel] project is just to create an illusion to society, as this project is more towards a land scam,” the witness said.
Although the IO did not elaborate on the land scam, previous witness testimonies have indicated that it pertains to Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd obtaining two prime reclaimed state land which now house the City of Dreams.
Zulhelmi was testifying as a witness in Lim’s undersea tunnel graft trial, where Lim faces a charge of abusing his position as the then-Penang chief minister to solicit a 10% cut in the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project’s profits from Zarul Ahmad, in return for aiding Zarul Ahmad’s company to secure the project.
The 64-year-old former finance minister, who is the current Bagan Member of Parliament and Ayer Putih assemblyman, is also accused of accepting RM3.3 million in kickbacks.
Lim, who is the current DAP adviser, also faces two counts of dishonest misappropriation of property in releasing two plots of state-owned land, cumulatively worth RM208.75 million, to Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd and Zenith Urban Development — two property companies linked to the controversial undersea tunnel project.
Initially, Datuk Seri G Gnanaraja was scheduled to testify in the trial on Tuesday, but lead deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin informed Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi that the businessman was down with influenza and has a medical certificate until Friday.
MOU with BUCG a form of direct negotiation
In replying to questions from DPP Farah Yasmin Salleh, IO Zulhelmi said that based on his investigation, a memorandum of understanding for the project in 2011 constitutes a form of direct award for Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) to be involved in the project in Penang.
He added this was supported by Zarul Ahmad’s recorded statement, the existence of the MOU (for the project), and the promise made by Lim to give BUCG the project via direct award.
“In the MOU, there is no mention that the [Penang undersea tunnel] project is to be done via open tender,” the IO said, adding that he had taken into account Lim’s conduct based on witnesses that included Penang exco members, where Lim had not informed them that a company was interested in bidding for it, and for then-Penang Works exco Lim Hock Seng to contact Zarul Ahmad.
Zulhelmi said his investigations showed there was no transparency in the awarding of the project to CZBUCG from the start, and this is based on the recorded statement by Zarul Ahmad.
He added that his probe had shown that Lim had decided to appoint CZBUCG, which is a joint venture with Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and BUCG, to conduct the project for his own interests, where Lim had proposed to Zarul Ahmad to arrange the MOU signing between BUCG and the Penang government, and that if Zarul Ahmad was successful, the project would be given to Zarul Ahmad and CZBUCG via direct negotiations.
“After Lim had relayed so to Zarul Ahmad, Lim requested the 10% kickback from the profit of the project from Zarul Ahmad, to which Zarul Ahmad agreed,” he added.
The MACC IO told the court that in his probe, the agreement to award the project to BUCG via the MOU was against the Penang executive council’s decision on April 27, 2011, for the project to be awarded via open tender.
The IO said a signing ceremony was held between Lim and the BUCG chairman on April 28, 2011, to agree to the construction of the project of the three link roads and the undersea tunnel said to cost RM10 billion, where the signing was witnessed by then-prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Zulhelmi said in the Penang state exco meeting on May 4, 2011, Hock Seng had said that the BUCG chairman had asked his company to prepare the proposal for the undersea tunnel in a hurry.
“If the project is done via open tender, Lim would have asked BUCG to stop in its effort, to show that the project is awarded via direct award. In turn, Lim asked for a request for proposal (RFP) for open tender to be done and that the RFP would include feasibility, design, and financial model.
“Lim also asked the Penang state secretary to prepare the RFP with the assistance of the State Economic Planning Unit, Penang City Council, State Works Department, Seberang Perai City Council, and the Penang Development Corporation. This supports Zarul Ahmad’s evidence when he told me that Lim had told him that the project would be done via open tender, but said state officers would assist him,” he said.
Throughout Zulhelmi’s testimony, Lim’s defence team, led by Ramkarpal Singh, Mohd Haijan Omar, and RSN Rayer, had made objections to certain portions of the IO’s testimony, where they alleged that the IO seemed to have asserted his opinion and views in his testimony, whereas it is the court which should make the findings and not the IO.
Azura then asked the defence to further list its objections in Zulhelmi’s testimony and then said she would make a ruling on their objections after hearing submissions from both the prosecution and defence on whether to expunge them.
The hearing before Azura resumes on Wednesday.