PENANG Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and state Barisan Nasional chief Teng Chang Yeow have confirmed that they are suing each other for defamation over their spat on the tunnel and highways project.

Both politicians – state leaders of Pakatan Harapan and BN respectively – had reportedly accused each other of “lying”.

Teng, who is also state Gerakan chairman, said he has instructed his lawyers to take Lim to court for defaming him in a statement the former made on Wednesday.

“In his press conference yesterday (Thursday), the chief minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, has decided to sue me.

“However, he is still avoiding the pertinent questions I had raised, which was derived from his Facebook postings and state legislative assembly answers,” he said today.

Teng said Lim was avoiding the issue by saying the court would determine the truth of the undersea tunnel project.

The BN leader said what was more important was Lim answering the questions raised in the interest of the people.

“He should not avoid if he adheres to the CAT (competent, accountable and transparent) principles,” Teng said.

The “liar” spat between Teng and Lim started on Tuesday when the former questioned the land swap payment made to the project contractor and fees paid in cash to an independent engineering consultant to check the claims of the contractor and others.

Teng asked whether the state government had lied about not paying a single sen for the project. He did not mention Lim by name when asking the question.

On Wednesday, Lim told Teng to be courageous enough to say that he lied when saying not a single sen was paid so he could prove in court that he was telling the truth.

Teng responded yesterday, saying that if Lim was “fond” of him naming him, he would do so in his press conferences from then on.

Gerakan legal bureau chief Baljit Singh said he supported Teng’s legal action against the chief minister.

“This is non-political. It is over an issue that involves public interest. It has to do with people’s livelihoods and the environment,” the lawyer said.

Meanwhile, Lim said he would be suing Teng, as well as The Star, New Straits Times, Berita Harian and Utusan Malaysia over the “liar” remark.

“I need to have a platform to sue Teng,” he said when asked about the legal action against the BN-linked newspapers.

Lim announced yesterday that he would tell his lawyers to initiate legal action against the Gerakan leader for accusing him of lying when he said that the Penang government never paid a single sen for the tunnel project.

The tunnel and three highways project had been making headlines after the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) launched an investigation into the project earlier this month.

MACC has since raided several state government departments and offices of the project contractor and its partners, including a property developer; interviewed witnesses, and remanded two company directors involved in the project to assist investigation. – January 19, 2018.