PUTRAJAYA: Two high-ranking bosses of development and construction companies have been remanded for six days as graft investigators continue their probe of the Penang undersea tunnel project. The two “Datuks” were held here and in Penang before being brought to court.
A 59-year-old businessman was brought to a magistrate’s court here at 9.40am yesterday and remanded for six days until Monday to help with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) investigation.
Magistrate Fatina Amyra Abdul Jalil allowed MACC prosecutors’ remand application although the Datuk’s lawyer Hamidi Mohd Noh objected, arguing that there was no need for his client to be held.
“I told the court that my client has been cooperative with the MACC.
“I would also like to point out that my client is innocent and his remand is only to assist the investigation,” he told reporters after the proceedings.
The MACC had initially asked for the Datuk to be held for seven days but the magistrate only allowed six days.
He was arrested at the MACC headquarters at around 8.45pm on Tuesday after being called for his statement to be recorded.
In George Town, another Datuk was brought to court for a remand application at 11.40am.
He was handcuffed and wearing MACC’s orange lock-up T-shirt with black pants when he arrived at the courthouse escorted by MACC officers.
The 49-year-old appeared calm and smiled to reporters but did not say anything before he was led inside.
Deputy registrar Muhammad Azam Md Eusoff granted a six-day remand order and the businessman was escorted out of the courthouse about 30 minutes later.
The case is being investigated under Section 16(a)(B) of the MACC Act 2009 for bribery.
On Tuesday, MACC personnel raided the offices of four state government agencies – the Penang Public Works Department, Penang State Secretary, Penang Office of Lands and Mines and Penang Valuation and Property Services Department – and three property development and construction companies believed to be related to the case.
The project involves a plan to bore a 6.5km tunnel below the seabed to connect north Butterworth and the island.
The tunnel is to connect Bagan Ajam, a mature suburb of about 5km from the Butterworth ferry terminal, to the end of Gurney Drive near the Pangkor Road junction on the island.
Connected to the project are three paired roads to be built on the island as a traffic dispersal system to cope with the traffic that the tunnel would bring to Gurney Drive, which is already densely developed.
The three paired roads are from Teluk Bahang to Tanjung Bungah, from Pangkor Road to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway – part of this stretch will be underground – and from Air Itam to the expressway near the Penang bridge.
To finance the construction, projected to cost RM6.3bil, the state government is giving payment in kind of 44.5ha of state land to the contractor, Consortium Zenith Construction.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng told the state assembly in 2014 that the land was valued at RM1,300 per sq ft and the project, ending with the tunnel, is scheduled for completion in 2025.
It was reported last March that RM135mil worth of land had been given to the contractor as payment to fund the feasibility studies and detailed studies.
A public-listed company announced in January 2016 that it had secured an agreement to buy 20.2ha of the land from the contractor over 10 years at RM1,300 per sq ft.
It is believed that the MACC is looking into why the state government allowed the contractor to pre-sell state land despite delays in the project construction.
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