KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness said he had wanted to exonerate former chief minister Lim Guan Eng in the Penang undersea tunnel case, but had to tell the truth after graft busters came at him with fresh evidence.
Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said he could not deny the events despite realising it could damage Lim’s reputation.
“I did not want to get Lim Guan Eng involved in anything or any investigation,” said the former director of Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZCSB).
“But the MACC came with a lot of evidence from previous witnesses, and also documents I have never seen before.
“This compelled me to testify truthfully,” he told the Sessions Court here yesterday.
Zarul Ahmad had previously testified that he felt indebted to Lim for awarding his company the project, and had tried to shield Lim from investigation, including by bribing a businessman, G. Gnanaraja to close Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigations that could lead to Lim.
He also admitted to forging payments through his staff to hide bribe payments to Lim.
“It was to protect Lim Guan Eng, to ensure there’s no financial trail leading to him,” he said when re-examined by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin.
Zarul Ahmad was also questioned about discrepancies in his statements on payments made to influence investigations.
Wan Shaharuddin: During earlier cross-examination, you said you paid money to protect Lim Guan Eng. During the impeachment proceeding, you said you paid RM19mil to close AMLA (Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act) investigations on you. Correct?
Zarul Ahmad: Yes.
Wan Shaharuddin: Why was there a difference in your statements?
Zarul Ahmad: Because they were related. If they open an investigation under AMLA or anything about my project, it will lead to Lim Guan Eng. If possible, I wanted to nip it in the bud, so that there would be no case.
Wan Shaharuddin: So, you wanted to save Lim Guan Eng. Did he know about your efforts of paying and others?
Zarul Ahmad: Yes, later on. After I met Lim Guan Eng about Gnanaraja.
The witness also clarified that he paid RM19mil to Gnanaraja, whom he got to know through former minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, to close the MACC investigation, and not RM22mil as he had said earlier.
Gnanaraja was said to be close to then prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak,
“I gave RM19mil to Gnanaraja, and RM3mil to a politician through my partner,” he said.
Zarul Ahmad said he was driven by a desire to protect Lim.
“I did not lie. I wanted to protect him,” he added, as he ended his testimony.
MACC investigating officer Ng Heng Jun, who was in charge of a previous cheating case involving Zarul Ahmad and Gnanaraja in Shah Alam, was called as the 36th prosecution witness.
In the 2019 Shah Alam case, Zarul Ahmad sued Gnanaraja for cheating him of RM19mil, which was paid as an inducement to help him drop money laundering charges.
However, Gnanaraja pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under the Companies Act and was fined RM230,000, while the cheating case has since been classified as “no further action”.
Previously, a 108-page statement by Zarul Ahmad to MACC that was recorded for the Shah Alam case was allowed in this court to impeach Zarul Ahmad’s credibility for making conflicting statements involving Gnanaraja.
Lim, 64, is facing an amended charge of using his position as Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes as an inducement to assist Zarul Ahmad secure the RM6.34bil undersea tunnel project.
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, 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 June 24.
