A BUSINESSMAN told the Sessions Court today that his own company was used to make illicit payments to former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, as part of the alleged corruption involving the state’s RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and roads project.
G. Gnanaraja, 44, said Lim had personally instructed him to set up and open a bank account for Bumi Muhibah Capital Holding Sdn Bhd, which was incorporated on 10 August 2016. The firm was then allegedly used to pay bribes to Lim a year later.
“All these instructions to prepare the company and open the account were given while I was in the car with Lim, on the way to Publika shopping mall on 20 August 2017,” Gnanaraja said while reading his witness statement in court. “The company maintained a single account with CIMB Bank. I had full access to the account, and only I could make withdrawals.”
Testifying as the prosecution’s 37th witness, Gnanaraja told the court that he was selected as a conduit for the alleged bribe payments by Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, then director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB).
He said Zarul first approached him between 10 and 19 August 2017 to act as the intermediary to deliver cash to Lim.
“Datuk Zarul chose me to handle the payments to Lim because he trusted me, and I was not affiliated with any opposition political party at the time,” Gnanaraja said.
He added that they discussed a RM2 million payment during a meeting at the Impiana Hotel in Ipoh on 18 August 2017. Later that evening, he was summoned by Zarul to the Eastin Hotel in Petaling Jaya.
“When I arrived at the hotel at around 6pm, Datuk Zarul got out of his car and placed two dark-coloured bags into the boot of my car,” he said. “He said ‘1M’ while putting in the first bag and ‘1M’ again with the second. I understood this to mean one million ringgit in each bag.”
Gnanaraja said that when he returned home, he opened both bags and saw they contained bundles of RM100 notes. He did not count the money, but confirmed the bags remained untouched in his study until he received another call from Zarul on 20 August.
On that day, Zarul instructed him to prepare one of the bags containing RM1 million and drive to the vicinity of Hotel Wen Worth in Pudu, Kuala Lumpur, to pick up Lim.
“When I got there, I saw Lim, wearing an official white Penang Chief Minister shirt with the state emblem, get into Datuk Zarul’s car. I was wearing a batik shirt,” he said. “Inside the car, Lim greeted us and asked how we were. He mentioned he had initially planned to arrange a meeting between me and someone named Datuk Ewein but decided instead to meet me directly to discuss financial matters.”
Lim, 64, is facing several amended charges in connection with the multi-billion-ringgit infrastructure project.
The first charge alleges that, in his capacity as Chief Minister, he used his position to receive RM3.3 million by helping Zarul Ahmad’s company secure the Penang roads and tunnel project between January 2011 and August 2017.
The second charge accuses Lim, who is also the MP for Bagan, of soliciting a 10 per cent cut of future profits from Zarul in return for aiding his company’s appointment. The alleged solicitation occurred near The Gardens Hotel, Mid Valley, sometime between 12.30am and 2am in March 2011.
Lim also faces two further charges relating to the disposal of two parcels of state land in Penang worth RM208.8 million, allegedly transferred to developers linked to the tunnel project in 2015 and 2017.
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi is scheduled to continue on 19 August. - July 23, 2025
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