KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 15): A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigating officer (IO) has further described the land scam pertaining to the Penang undersea tunnel that involved Lim Guan Eng, by telling the Sessions Court that there was an early dealing between Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, businessman Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng, and Lim.
The land involved Lot 702, which was given by the Penang government to Zarul Ahmad’s company as a land swap for a feasibility study to be done over the development of the Penang undersea tunnel project and the expansion of three main roads. The company then sold Lot 702 for RM133 million to Ewe’s company, Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd.
Senior Superintendent Zulhelmi Ramli, 33, said that in his investigations, Lot 702 had been earmarked as early as 2011, when Ewe met Lim to ask whether there was any state government land which could be developed.
According to the IO, Lim had told Ewe that he (Ewe) needed to find a state government project where the payment could be made via a land swap.
“What was needed by Ewe to do is to deal with the contractor to sell the land to Ewe’s company. It is clear that this was what had happened to Lot 702, which Ewe obtained.
“If there was no early dealing between Ewe, Zarul Ahmad, and Lim, this land lot would not be wrongly released to Ewe, and the Penang government would not have suffered losses. In addition, what is strange is that Ewe was brave to make the payment as early as November 2013, to Zarul Ahmad’s company, whereas at that time it remained uncertain that CZBUCG would obtain the land,” the IO said.
CZBUCG officially obtained the land sometime in 2015.
On Tuesday, Zulhelmi had told the court that the undersea tunnel project was just to create an illusion to society, as this project was more towards a land scam.
The MACC IO 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.
Feasibility costing RM305.88 million and land swap
It should be noted that Ewe is the founder of Ewein Bhd, where he was also the executive chairman. He died in 2021 from falling off a building.
Zulhelmi, the 38th witness in Lim’s undersea tunnel trial, said CZBUCG was appointed to conduct a preliminary study of the undersea tunnel project, which included identifying lands for the land swap deal.
He added that a portion of Lot 702 in Bandar Tanjung Pinang had been identified for this purpose, as a preliminary agreement had been reached between the Penang government and CZBUCG for it to conduct a feasibility study at a cost of RM305.88 million before the project began.
The land swap was given in return for the purported feasibility study. On Lot 702, after the land was sold to Ewe, rose the multi-development housing project known as City of Dreams.
Zulhelmi said between Nov 13, 2013, and March 30, 2015, Ewe had paid a sum of RM133 million to CZBUCG for Lot 702.
The witness testified that he had obtained the Preliminary Agreement for the Privatisation of The Major Roads and Tunnel Projects in Penang between the state government and CZBUCG. The preliminary agreement for the construction of the three main roads and undersea tunnel was signed by the Penang government and Zarul Ahmad, on Oct 6, 2013.
Zulhelmi said CZBUCG had also signed an agreement with the China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) to do the feasibility studies on the three main roads and the Penang undersea tunnel, at a cost of RM305.88 million, and the part-payment was to be made through the land swap of Lot 702 and also Lot 713 in Bandar Tanjung Pinang.
“I took into consideration that the feasibility study was not completed and it had become a fact that Zarul Ahmad had obtained Lot 702 and Lot 713. I also took into account that China-based Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), which was initially part of CZBUCG, had expected difficulty in relation to the construction of the tunnel, as stipulated in the Penang state exco meeting on May 10, 2011,” he said.
Zulhelmi will continue to give his evidence before Sessions Court judge Azura Alwi on Oct 29 and 30. It should be noted that Lim’s defence counsel had also made several objections to Zulhelmi’s testimony, as what was testified was the IO’s mere opinion, which should not be represented as the court’s view.
Earlier, Azura had allowed a permanent return of Lim’s passport.