CALLING the corruption charge against him as politically motivated, Lim Guan Eng said he had not received any gratification in the undersea tunnel project.

The former Penang chief minister said that during his interrogation with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), he was never asked to declare his bank balances. 

“I want to stress that I have never received any gratification and I’ve said this to MACC. 

“They never asked me to show proof whether I have millions or billions of ringgit in my bank or millions or billions in cash possession,” he told reporters today at the Kuala Lumpur High Court lobby after posting a RM500,000 bail. 

Lim was charged at a special corruption court in Kuala Lumpur today before judge Azura Alwi.

Lim was accused of committing the offence in March 2011 near The Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley in Kuala Lumpur, while he was still the Penang chief minister.

He allegedly solicited the bribe from Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkilfi, whose company was appointed by Penang to implement the project.

Lim said the allegation against him is baseless and is politically motivated to tarnish his reputation.

He said the undersea tunnel project was awarded through open tender and not a single penny had been paid for the project.

“This is a baseless allegation and is politically motivated to tarnish me and my reputation and of course in my effort to execute my role as an opposition parliamentarian.

“This project is by open tender and not by direct award and to date, not a single sen has been paid for the tunnel project. 

“So, I will fight to prove my innocence in court and I believe the truth will show that I’ve not received any gratification and there is no corruption,” he said, adding that the charges will not hinder him from pursuing other corruption scandals such as the one involving 1Malaysia Development Bhd, which he claimed that the recent settlement with Goldman Sachs was done without cabinet approval.

Lim’s lawyer, Gobind Singh Deo, said there was no figure stated in the charges preferred against his client and there was no basis to them.

He said they will fight until the end and use the court process to prove his client’s innocence. 

“One issue is the prosecution falling short of including the alleged amount of the bribe in the charge.

“To us, that is a fatal matter. It is clear, the charge failed to state any amount and only a supposed request for 10%.

“This is one matter that we will study and we need to look into the documents given to us by the prosecution, but we deny outright this charge and we stress that we will fight this to the end to prove that my client is innocent,” he told reporters. 

Lim was arrested by the MACC last night and will be charged in Kuala Lumpur today for his alleged involvement in the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project.

He is also expected to face further charges in Penang next week. – August 7, 2020.