A FORMER company director testified at the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court on Monday that former Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng had personally proposed that Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) be appointed to carry out an undersea tunnel project as part of a multibillion-ringgit infrastructure initiative in the state.
Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, 66, who was called as the 23rd prosecution witness, said Lim suggested the tunnel as it would require fewer approvals from the federal government compared to other options.
"Given Penang's position at the time, he suggested that we construct a tunnel instead of a bridge," Sinar Harian cited Zarul telling the court during re-examination by Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
Zarul’s testimony came as part of Lim's ongoing corruption trial. The former Democratic Action Party (DAP) leader, 65, faces four charges—two for soliciting and receiving bribes, and two others relating to the alleged disposal of state-owned land to parties connected with the same infrastructure project.
The RM6.3 billion initiative included both the construction of major roads and the controversial undersea tunnel project.
Zarul added, based on meeting minutes, all major development projects in the state were required to be consolidated into a single Request for Proposal (RFP) document, rather than issuing separate RFPs for each component.
"In the meeting minutes, it was stated that all mega projects to be developed must be compiled into a single RFP document," he said.
"This was because each project was interrelated. Therefore, Beijing Urban Construction Group Sdn Bhd did not need to prepare separate RFP drafts for each project.
"Typically, each project has its own RFP, but in this case there were four projects, so logically there should have been four RFPs," he added.
When asked by the prosecution, Zarul agreed that the process had provided a significant advantage to his company in preparing the RFP, as it was assisted by officers from the Penang state government.
According to the first amended charge, Lim is accused of using his position as Penang chief minister to solicit a bribe of RM3.3 million from Zarul as an inducement to secure the RM6.34 billion contract for CZCSB. The alleged offence took place between January 2011 and August 2017 at the Chief Minister’s Office in Penang.
The second amended charge alleges that Lim requested a 10 percent cut of the profits from the project from Zarul as a reward for facilitating the deal. This incident is alleged to have occurred near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City, Kuala Lumpur, between 12.30 am and 2.00 am in March 2011.
Lim also faces two additional charges for allegedly causing the disposal of two plots of state-owned land, worth RM208.8 million, to a developer linked to the project. The transactions were said to have taken place at the Penang Land and Mines Office in Komtar on 17 February 2015 and 22 March 2017.
The trial, presided over by Judge Azura Alwi, is scheduled to continue on Tuesday. – April 14, 2025
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