Kuala lumpur: A Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer told the Sessions Court today that Lim Guan Eng's decision to appoint Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) for the Penang undersea tunnel and major roads project was hasty and driven by personal interest. Senior Enforcement Officer from the MACC Investigation Division at its Putrajaya headquarters, Zulhilmi Ramli, 33, said the former Penang chief minister's actions from the start indicated a lack of transparency and intent to bypass an open tender process.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the investigation revealed that the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the Penang government and the China-based BUCG on March 17, 2011, was effectively a direct award to the company for involvement in the project. Zulhilmi emphasized that the MoU was not a licence for BUCG or its representatives to be involved in preparing the Request for Proposal, noting testimony from Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli about Lim's promise to award the project directly to BUCG. Furthermore, the MoU did not stipulate an open tender for the project.
The prosecution's 38th witness detailed the events during Lim's corruption trial over the Penang undersea tunnel and highway project. Zulhilmi, who joined the case investigation around 2020, discovered another MoU dated April 28, 2011, where Lim signed an agreement between the state government and BUCG to develop proposals addressing Penang's traffic problems. This MoU invited BUCG to submit a proposal for road construction works estimated at RM10 billion, contradicting the state executive council's decision on April 27, 2011, for an open tender process.
Zulhilmi also recounted that in early March 2011, Zarul Ahmad met Lim at a restaurant in Jalan Ampang, and afterward drove Lim to The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley. During this journey, Lim proposed arranging an MoU between BUCG and the Penang government and mentioned that the tunnel project would be awarded through direct negotiation if Zarul Ahmad could organize the MoU ceremony. Lim allegedly requested 10 per cent of the project's profits from Zarul Ahmad.
Meanwhile, Lim's defence lawyers, Ramkarpal Singh and RSN Rayer, requested parts of the witness statement to be removed, arguing they were opinion-based rather than factual. Judge Azura Alwi directed the defence to list the relevant statements before hearing arguments from both sides once the witness concluded his testimony.
Lim, 64, as the then Penang chief minister, is accused of using his position to receive RM3.3 million by helping a company owned by Zarul Ahmad secure the RM6.34 billion Penang undersea tunnel and highway project between January 2011 and August 2017. He also faces charges of soliciting 10 per cent of the project's profits and causing two plots of state land worth RM208.8 million to be disposed of to a developer linked to the undersea tunnel project.