KUALA LUMPUR: A key prosecution witness in the ongoing corruption trial of Lim Guan Eng told the Sessions Court that he has no ill intent against the former Penang chief minister and no reason to falsely implicate him.
Businessman G. Gnanaraja said he did not agree with suggestions that he had a motive to “fix” Lim.
“He is not my enemy. He has never done anything bad to me and I had no intention to do anything bad to him,” he said during re-examination by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin yesterday.
Gnanaraja added that if he had intended to deceive, he could have easily fabricated a more damaging claim.
“If I had that tendency, I could have easily said I handed all four bags of money to him. But I didn’t.
“I only stated what I took and what I gave to him,” he said, referring to a bag of cash he previously testified that he gave to Lim when they were in a car.
When asked, he admitted to using the name of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak in his message exchange with businessman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, who is another star witness in this trial, while acknowledging that references such as “boss” or “big boss” in the conversations could refer to Lim or Najib, depending on the context.
Gnanaraja maintained that the RM19mil he received from Zarul Ahmad was a personal loan, adding that some discussions between them took place over phone calls and were not reflected in WhatsApp messages presented in court.
In a separate development, the court also heard submissions on the prosecution’s application to amend one of the charges by removing the word “receive”.
Wan Shaharuddin said the amendment was necessary to comply with legal requirements under Section 23(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act and would not prejudice the defence.
The defence objected, arguing that the proposed change, made after six years of trial, could be prejudicial and affect its line of defence.
Sessions judge Azura Alwi said she would deliver her ruling on the matter at the next hearing on May 6.
Lim, 65, faces an amended charge of using his position as Penang chief minister to solicit RM3.3mil in bribes to assist Zarul Ahmad in securing the undersea tunnel project, valued at RM6.34bil.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, Level 28, Komtar, George Town, between January 2011 and August 2017.
In a second amended charge, he is accused of soliciting a 10% profit from the company as gratification for securing the project, allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City in March 2011.
He also faces two additional charges of causing two plots of Penang government land, valued at RM208.8mil, to be disposed of to companies linked to the project.
