KUALA LUMPUR: The company that was awarded the Penang undersea tunnel and road projects has gained a "clear advantage" through early access to technical and financial information before the projects went out to open tender, the Sessions Court heard on Thursday (June 4).
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigating officer Zulhilmi Ramli said this during cross-examination by lead counsel Haijan Omar as the corruption trial into former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng resumed.
Asked what advantage was derived from information obtained through cross-referencing witness statements and three meeting minutes, Zulhilmi said his investigation found that discussions on technical and financial matters had taken place between Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) and the Penang state government without the involvement of other bidders.
"Based on my investigation, the information that gave BUCG an advantage related to the technical and financial aspects of the project.
"There were discussions between BUCG and the state government without the participation of the other bidders involved in the project. This gave BUCG a clear advantage.
"The company had initially been considered through direct negotiations before the process was changed to an open tender," he said.
Earlier, Haijan established that Zulhilmi did not obtain any draft request-for-proposal (RFP) documents during the investigation and therefore could not compare them with the final RFP issued by the state government.
Zulhilmi agreed that he was unable to make such a comparison, but maintained that his findings were based on witness statements and meeting minutes gathered during the investigation.
Last year, businessman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, who is one of the key prosecution witnesses in this trial. testified that his company had an advantage in the tender process because he was the only bidder who attended three meetings related to the project in 2011.
The court previously heard from former state executive councillor Datuk Lim Hock Seng that CZBUCG, a consortium comprising Zenith BUCG, Juteras Sdn Bhd and Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd, later received the highest evaluation score in the tender exercise and was recommended by the technical and financial committee after meeting the requirements set out in the RFP.
The trial before Judge Azura Alwi continues on June 5.
Lim, 65, is charged with using his position to obtain RM3.3mil in gratification linked to the project, allegedly committed at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office in Komtar between January 2011 and August 2017.
He also faces a second charge of using his position to obtain a 10% profit from the project as gratification, allegedly committed near The Gardens Hotel in Mid Valley City in March 2011, as well as two charges involving the disposal of Penang government land valued at RM208.8mil to companies linked to the project.
