KUALA LUMPUR – A prosecution witness in Lim Guan Eng’s corruption trial today agreed that he never named the former finance minister when questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) about bribery allegations in the Penang undersea tunnel project.
Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli agreed when questioned by Lim’s lawyer, Haijan Omar, who cross-examined him about discrepancies in his testimony in the sessions court here today.
Haijan asked the witness if the RM2 million cheque, implicated in Lim’s case, was the same as the one used in a separate corruption trial involving businessman G. Ganaraja.
Zarul agreed with this, as well as Haijan’s other assertion that the witness never told MACC that a RM2 million bribe had been given to Lim, who was Penang’s former chief minister.
Instead, Zarul agreed with Haijan that he had gone to MACC to report that he had given a RM19 million bribe to Ganaraja, which included the RM2 million cheque. This saw the businessman charged in the Shah Alam sessions court in 2019.
Zarul also agreed with Haijan’s suggestions that he had given RM19 million to the then prime minister in 2018, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, through Ganaraja, to shut down MACC’s investigation into his company, Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB).
The bribe to Najib was also to maintain a good relationship for future business prospects, Haijan suggested, to which Zarul agreed.
This exchange occurred during impeachment hearings in Lim’s trial this morning. The defence is attempting to impeach former CZCSB director Zarul over his credibility as a witness for making contradictory statements throughout the trial.
Haijan and Zarul clashed several times today as the latter refused to give clear answers to questions, insisting he wanted to give “the long answer”.
Zarul then told the court he was feeling unwell, and the judge allowed the hearing to continue on March 6.
Haijan earlier today also clashed with deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin over Zarul’s previous statements to MACC.
The defence is seeking to obtain a complete copy of Zarul’s statement to the anti-graft agency, to which Wan Shaharuddin protested that the court had already ruled on January 9 to only permit the release of part of Zarul’s statements.
“This is a fishing expedition again. (The court should) maintain the ruling (made on January 9), and we should proceed with the hearing today,” the DPP said.
Judge Azura Alwi then said her January 9 decision still stands, but today allowed for some additional pages of Zarul’s statement, involving the caution paper and Zarul’s signature, to be given to the defence.
On October 23, last year, Zarul testified in Lim’s corruption trial that he had given RM2 million each to Lim and Najib through Ganaraja.
Lim, 63, was charged with using his position as the then Penang’s chief minister to solicit gratification to help Zarul’s company secure the tunnel project.
The DAP chairman is also accused of receiving RM3.3 million for himself and causing two plots of the state government’s lands to be disposed of to two companies linked to the project. – March 4, 2024