Investigating officer denies Guan Eng tunnel case investigation was biased

A MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer denied in the Sessions Court today that the probe into former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was biased.

Investigating officer Zulhilmi Ramli also disagreed with the defence's suggestion that the prosecution was made to incriminate the politician in the Penang undersea tunnel project trial.

During the proceedings, Mohd Haijan Omar, representing the 66-year-old Bagan MP, suggested that the investigation into the issue was biased and intended to incriminate his client.

Earlier, the lawyer also questioned the failure of the investigators to confirm whether there were claims related to the initial design of the undersea tunnel project.

However, Zulhilmi, 34, said that based on his recollection, the initial design had not been submitted to the state government because it was still in its early stages and had just been prepared by Consortium Zenith Beijing Urban Construction Group (CZBUCG).

“Not sure,” said the 38th prosecution witness, when asked whether the absence of the document meant that no claim had been made.

He also denied allegations that no investigation had been conducted to ascertain whether claims related to the initial design of the tunnel project had been made.

This included the lawyer's suggestion that Zulhilmi only relied on the testimony of prosecution witness Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli without confirming the validity of the claim that the initial design of the project had been completed.

Zulhilmi said this during the trial proceedings against Lim, who is facing two charges of soliciting and receiving bribes and two other charges of causing two lots of land owned by the Penang State Government to be disposed of to a developer company related to the undersea tunnel project worth RM6.34 billion.

Meanwhile, RSN Rayer, who is also representing Lim, continued the cross-examination and focused on four earlier MACC investigation papers opened before

According to the first amended charge, Lim is charged with using his position while he was the Chief Minister of Penang to obtain bribes totalling RM3.3 million.

The offence was allegedly committed between January 2011 and August 2017 at the Penang Chief Minister's Office.

For the second amended charge, he is accused of soliciting a bribe of 10 per cent of the profits as gratification.

The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City, between 12.30 am and 2 am in March 2011.

In addition, Lim also faces two charges of causing two lots of land owned by the Penang State Government worth RM208.8 million to be disposed of to a developer company in relation to the same project at the Penang State Land and Mines Office, Komtar, on 17 February 2015 and 22 March 2017.

The trial before Judge Azura Alwi continues this Friday. – August 3, 2026