Lim’s use of wife’s legal firm comes under question

GEORGE TOWN: The Youth wings of Penang MCA and Gerakan have challenged all DAP elected representatives to state whether it was right for Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to purchase his RM2.8mil bungalow via the legal firm where his wife worked.

Penang MCA Youth deputy secretary Ooi Teik Liang and state Gerakan Youth secretary Ooi Zhi Yi said the DAP elected reps must express their views on the issue.

Ooi said they had every reason to believe that Lim’s bungalow documentation and purchase agreement were handled by the legal firm where Lim’s wife Betty Chew had worked.

“We aren’t sure whether such a practice is legally, ethically and professionally correct. It may be normal for other people but not when it involves a Chief Minister,” he said.

“All documentation of his purchase of the bungalow was completed in August 2015 by her legal firm. In December 2015, she joined another legal firm.

“We do not want to make any insinuations at this stage. We want the DAP representatives to state their stand on this matter,” he added.

Zhi Yi also said DAP lawmakers should declare their stand on the issue.

“If the bungalow was bought at a normal price, then there is no problem. The problem is, it was bought at an undervalued price and he is the Chief Minister.

“If this happened to a Barisan Nasional leader, they would already be calling us unethical and so on,” he added when contacted yesterday.

The two leaders had the backing of DAP Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who said leaders must not only preach values of integrity but also live up to them.

“(Lim) is a public leader. If you see it from a legal perspective, this situation is very normal.

“But if you view the situation based on leadership and the high expectation of integrity, it is not proper,” he added.

Penang executive councillor Jagdeep Singh Deo explained that there was nothing wrong with a solicitor acting for her spouse.

“In fact, in this case, what should be clarified is the fact that Chew did not attest the sale and purchase agreement nor the transfer. It was her colleague who did so.

“She was not a partner in that firm but only a legal assistant. The loan for the purchase was handled by a third party firm, namely Zaid Ibrahim and Co, the solicitors appointed by Citibank,” he told a press conference in Komtar yesterday.