KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness in the ongoing corruption trial of Lim Guan Eng says it was not a "coincidence" that his company secured the Penang undersea tunnel mega project.
Former Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB) director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said his company gained the upper hand when entering the tender.
"I had an advantage... because I was the only one who attended the three meetings in 2011 with state officials related to the project," he said during re-examination by DPP Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin in the Sessions Court here on Tuesday (April 15).
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DPP Wan Shaharuddin: So who eventually secured the project?
Zarul Ahmad: I did.
Wan Shaharuddin: Considering everything, (was all this) a coincidence?
Zarul Ahmad: No.
When asked, Zarul Ahmad said he did not incur losses in the dealings concerning the undersea tunnel project.
Instead, he said he was indebted to Lim and other state officials who helped him profit.
The RM6.3bil, 7.2km undersea tunnel project was to consist of four major components: three toll-free roads on the island and a tolled tunnel to ease traffic congestion.
Wan Shaharuddin: Is there any side that faced losses?
Zarul Ahmad: I can say the Penang state government suffered losses. The study on the project was not completed, yet I received two plots of land.
Zarul Ahmad added that to this day, the detailed design of the project is still unfinished.
He was referred to the minutes of several meetings in 2011 and read out parts of the content, which stated the supposed processes and expected challenges.
Last month, Zarul Ahmad told the court that the Penang government proceeded to advance the project to the request for proposal stage despite encountering significant challenges in the feasibility studies and detailed design.
On Monday (April 14), he testified that he met the late businessman, Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd (EZCB) managing director Datuk Ewe Swee Kheng, in 2013 to talk about the transfer of ownership of a plot of state land, known as Lot 702.
It was part of a land swap agreement related to the feasibility and detailed design studies for the undersea tunnel project.
Zarul Ahmad told the court Ewe was “confident” that he (Ewe) would receive the state land.
However, Ewe died on Oct 5, 2021, after falling from his apartment in Penang.
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Meanwhile, Lim's lead counsel Haijan Omar was told to file a formal application with the court for his client's passport to travel to China from May 5 to 13.
Wan Shaharuddin said the prosecution had no problem with the request.
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.
In the second amended charge, Lim is accused of soliciting a 10% profit from the company as gratification to secure the project.
The offence was allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel, Lingkaran Syed Putra, Mid Valley City here, in March 2011.
Lim, who is 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 on May 14.
