KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): Democratic Action Party (DAP) adviser Lim Guan Eng, who is facing corruption charges over the Penang undersea tunnel project, has had his passport permanently returned. 

Sessions judge Azura Alwi approved it after he was appointed honorary chairman of an Asean-China industrial group by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. His passport has been held since 2020.

The letter appointing Lim the honorary chairman of the Asean-China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Cooperation and Development (ACAPICD), signed by Anwar, was dated Aug 25 and issued by Anwar’s chief private secretary Datuk Shahrol Anuwar Sarman.

Azura allowed the defence application for a permanent return of Lim’s passport, despite objections by the prosecution.

The Sessions judge, in allowing the return, imposed an additional condition for Lim to report to the Penang Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission office in the first week of the month.

When Lim was charged in August 2020, the court set a RM1 million bail with two guarantors and kept his passport until the trial ended.

In his affidavit in support of the permanent return of his passport, Lim said he needed it to represent the Malaysian government after being appointed ACAPICD chairperson in light of Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship in 2025.

“As Asean chairman, Malaysia is responsible to lead Asean in determining agenda, direction and the organisation of meeting programmes and activity in relation to Asean for 2025. One of the agenda is to strengthen trade ties between Asean and China. For this purpose ACAPICD was formed,” Lim said in his affidavit in support.

Lim’s lawyer, Mohd Haijan Omar, said the passport needed to be returned permanently so Lim could carry out his duties as the new ACAPICD chairman, which required frequent travel, including this month and in November.

“Furthermore, this would help save the court’s time of having the defence apply to court and him coming to court each time. Our client had diligently come to court in his cases for the past five years and being an MP and assemblyman, who is also a DAP leader and has family members here, there is no risk of him being a flight risk.”

Haijan added that Lim had already posted the RM1 million bail and that no objections were made in response to Lim’s affidavit.

Deputy public prosecutors Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin and Julaila Jamaludin opposed permanently returning Lim’s passport, saying they had always agreed to temporary returns for travel before.

“Lim can continuously apply to the court for the release of his passport and the prosecution would not make any objection. Our objection is for the permanent return of the travel document,” he said.

Despite the prosecution’s objection, Azura approved the permanent return of the passport due to the change in circumstances.