KUALA LUMPUR: No politician was involved in the technical and financial committee for the pre-qualification tender for the Penang undersea tunnel project’s main road and tunnel construction, the Sessions Court heard.
Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) former director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, 66, said this during cross-examination by former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng’s lawyer Haijan Omar.
The lead prosecution witness said the committee only consisted of government officials.
He also agreed with Haijan that the committee made its decision based on qualifications.
He, however, said he had no idea that his company had finished in second place in the pre-qualification stage.
Zarul Ahmad agreed that his company did not receive any advantage in the bidding process to obtain the project.
He had previously claimed that his company had received an advantage in the awarding of the project, as he was shown minutes of the Penang Island City Council’s meetings between March 11 and July 11 in 2011.
However, when presented with a Halcrow study, which Haijan said was accessible to the public and covered the roads of the project, Zarul Ahmad said all companies involved in the bidding had access to the report, thus nullifying any advantage to his firm’s bid.
“The road alignment did not confer any advantage to my firm, as outlined in the Halcrow report,” he said.
The report refers to a transportation study conducted by UK-based consultancy firm Halcrow, which provided a comprehensive plan for Penang’s transport system to increase public transport usage.
The report was completed in December 2012 and adopted by the Penang government in March 2013. It is considered the blueprint for Penang’s Transport Master Plan, outlining strategies to address traffic congestion issues in the region.
Lim, 64, is facing an amended charge of using his position as then Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes as an inducement to assist Zarul Ahmad in securing the undersea tunnel project worth RM6.34bil.
Lim allegedly committed the offence at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, George Town, between January 2011 and August 2017.
The second amended charge accuses Lim of requesting a 10% profit from the company in exchange for securing the project.
The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here, in March 2011.
Lim, who is DAP chairman and Bagan MP, faces two further charges of causing two plots of land worth RM208.8mil, belonging to the Penang government, to be disposed of to two companies linked to the project.
The trial before judge Azura Alwi continues today.
