The corruption trial of former Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng turned heated as tensions flared between the prosecution and defence, following a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer’s explosive claim that the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project tender was a mere façade.
The courtroom atmosphere in Kuala Lumpur’s Sessions Court became charged when MACC investigating officer Senior Superintendent Zulhilmi Ramli resumed his testimony. His statements alleging manipulation of the tender process drew immediate objections from Lim’s defence team, leading to a series of fiery exchanges.
Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin accused the defence of being unnecessarily disruptive, likening their behaviour to “a worm in hot ashes.” Defence counsel RSN Rayer fired back, saying the prosecution should not ridicule them, prompting Judge Azura Alwi to intervene and de-escalate the tension.
Zulhilmi, the 38th prosecution witness, told the court that his investigation concluded the entire open tender exercise was staged to give an illusion of transparency. According to him, the project had already been earmarked for Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG), a company led by Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli, long before the tender was publicly announced.
He said documents and committee minutes showed that representatives from Lim’s office and CZBUCG had worked closely together during the drafting of the Request for Proposal (RFP), with the company’s input heavily shaping the process. This, he claimed, breached standard procurement procedures and gave CZBUCG an unfair advantage.
Zulhilmi highlighted that the Financial Evaluation Committee, chaired by state financial officer Datuk Mokhtar Mohd Jait, had presented the evaluation report to Lim and the state executive council in April 2012. The investigation also revealed that the Works Ministry was excluded from discussions, raising further concerns about transparency.
He added that while the process outwardly appeared to meet procedural standards, it was, in reality, a formal exercise designed to legitimise a pre-determined outcome. The investigating officer pointed to evaluation scores showing CZBUCG achieving 93 percent compared to its nearest competitor’s 77 percent, suggesting preferential treatment through insider access.
The testimony reinforced the prosecution’s allegation that the project was tainted by abuse of power. Lim, 63, stands accused of soliciting bribes from Zarul Ahmad in connection with the massive infrastructure development involving three major roads and an undersea tunnel linking Penang island to the mainland.
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