PETALING JAYA: Lim Guan Eng’s refusal to come clean on his relationship with the Datuk Seri being investigated for graft and his “revelation” of photos of the latter’s wife with Barisan leaders are acts of desperation, says Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications deputy director Datuk Eric See-To.
He slammed the Penang Chief Minister for not explaining his relationship with the Datuk Seri, who allegedly received RM19mil to help close the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation files on Penang’s RM6.34bil undersea tunnel and three paired roads project.
“Firstly, the wife is a media personality whose job would invariably include meeting government leaders.
“Secondly, those photos were uploaded to her public social media account by her, unlike Guan Eng,” he said.
Two photos of Lim and the Datuk Seri have emerged so far.
The first showed both wearing socks, but no shoes, standing on a carpeted floor, while the second was a wefie of both men smiling widely in the back seat of a car.
At a press conference in George Town yesterday, Lim distributed photos of the Datuk Seri’s wife with Barisan leaders to the press in response to the claims that he was close to the Datuk Seri.
“Looking at so many photos of his wife with Barisan leaders, it is clear that both of them are strong Barisan supporters.
“Do not throw stones when you live in glass houses,” Lim said.
However, See-To pointed out that none of the two Barisan ministers who took the photos with the wife had any involvement in the controversial Penang project.
“The Chief Minister’s office had brushed off the first photo implying that he is not close to the suspect, only for a second one to emerge which shows that the relationship is deeper than his office suggested,” he said.
Meanwhile, Lim also told the press conference that the wefie of him and the Datuk Seri was taken with the latter’s handphone.
He added that the real question was who leaked the photos when only the Datuk Seri had them in his handphone.
“Even I do not have them,” he said.
Lim reiterated that he had “taken many photographs with many personalities” and could not recall how many times or where they were taken.
He said there may be more photos of him and the Datuk Seri, the latter’s wife and family members.
“Does taking photos with him, his wife and family make us close buddies?” he asked.
On the same issue, Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari called on Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy to stop being an apologist for Lim.
The MIC treasurer-general said Dr Ramasamy should have joined him in questioning Lim’s role in the Penang project.
“Ramasamy should now be brave and encourage his boss to make police reports if those two photos are fake, or he should insist that his boss sue me if he believes I had slandered him,” he said in a statement.
Vell Paari claimed that he knew with certainty that the first photo was taken at the Datuk Seri’s lavish house in Petaling Jaya in July last year.
He also claimed that the wefie of Lim and the Datuk Seri was taken in August last year.
The car belongs to the owner of the special purpose vehicle set up for the tunnel project, he claimed.
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