A MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer has rejected assertions by the defence that his findings regarding the transfer of two state land parcels connected to the Penang undersea tunnel project were completely wrong.
Investigating officer Zulhilmi Ramli informed the Sessions Court in Kuala Lumpur on Friday that Lots 702 and 713 in Tanjung Pinang were transferred to Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) as payment for work on the project, despite the feasibility study for the proposed undersea tunnel remaining incomplete at the time.
The testimony was delivered during the corruption trial of former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng, who has pleaded not guilty to charges linked to the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel venture.
Under cross-examination, lead defence counsel Haijan Omar challenged the witness's conclusions, maintaining that Zulhilmi's findings were not right at all.
Haijan argued that the transfer of the land parcels was executed in full accordance with a preliminary agreement and served as payment for feasibility study and preliminary design works that CZBUCG had already completed.
CZBUCG, the consortium selected for the mega-project, consists of Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) alongside several other companies.
Earlier in the proceedings, former Penang executive councillor Datuk Lim Hock Seng, testifying as the prosecution's third witness, stated that the Penang government had transferred Lots 702 and 713 to CZBUCG as partial payment for the feasibility study and preliminary design works carried out for the project.
The land in question was later developed by Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Ewein Group, into the City of Dreams serviced apartment development.
During cross-examination, Zulhilmi conceded that he could not explain the precise methodology used to determine the valuation of approximately RM135 million for Lot 702 under the preliminary agreement, including how its net developable area was calculated.
He concurred with Haijan that the valuation depended on an agreed price per square foot and the land's net developable area, rather than its total land area.
Haijan asserted that the valuation methodology was a critical component of the investigation, as it directly impacted whether the land was reasonably valued and whether the Penang government incurred financial losses as a result of the land swap.
Zulhilmi agreed that the valuation of Lot 702 constituted a key aspect of the MACC probe.
Lim, 65, stands accused of using his former position to solicit RM3.3 million in gratification linked to the mega-project, allegedly committed at the Penang Chief Minister's Office in Komtar between January 2011 and August 2017.
He faces a second charge of using his position to seek a 10 per cent share of the project's profits as gratification near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City in March 2011, alongside two further charges relating to the disposal of Penang state government land valued at RM208.8 million to companies linked to the project. - July 24, 2026
