MACC Officer Denies Biased Investigation in Lim Guan Eng’s Tunnel Trial

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 3 — A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer on Monday rejected defense assertions that the agency’s probe into former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng regarding the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project was conducted in a biased or unfair manner.

Senior Superintendent Zulhilmi Ramli, 34, from the MACC headquarters’ Investigation Division, dismissed the suggestions during cross-examination by defense counsel Mohd Haijan Omar at the Sessions Court.

During the proceedings, Mohd Haijan questioned why investigators had not verified whether Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group (CZBUCG) submitted claims to the Penang state government for the feasibility study and detailed design (FSDD) of the undersea tunnel.

Zulhilmi, testifying as the prosecution’s 38th witness, responded that the FSDD had not been submitted to the state government because the tunnel project was still in its early stages and the document had only recently been prepared. He confirmed having seen the document but rejected the defense’s claim that investigators relied solely on testimony from prosecution witness Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli without independent verification.

Zulhilmi further denied that the investigation was one-sided or intended to unfairly incriminate the former chief minister.

Lim, 65, faces four corruption charges related to the RM6.34 billion undersea tunnel and major roads project. The first charge alleges he abused his position as chief minister between January 2011 and August 2017 to obtain RM3.3 million in gratification by helping Zarul Ahmad’s company secure the contract.

The second charge alleges the Bagan Member of Parliament solicited a 10 percent share of expected future profits from Zarul Ahmad near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City in March 2011. Lim also faces two charges of causing the disposal of two plots of Penang state government land valued at RM208.8 million to a developer linked to the project in February 2015 and March 2017.

The trial before Judge Azura Alwi resumes on August 7.

–NMT