Raja Petra’s allegations ‘ridiculous lies’, says Guan Eng

(NST) – Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has described blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s allegations of corruption involving the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project as “ridiculous lies”.

“(The contract for the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project was awarded) through open tender.

“So how can there be corruption when there was an open tender?” he told reporters here, today.

In a recent entry in his portal www.malaysia-today.net, Raja Petra alleged that Lim and four other Penang state executive councillors were involved in corrupt practices involving the project.

He claimed to have been given a 200-page document by an individual at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), and that he will produce extracts of its contents in several online instalments to expose the matter.

Meanwhile, the MACC has launched a probe into the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project as well as a separate probe into Raja Petra’s allegations.

The RM6.3 billion development has long been a subject of controversy, especially with regard to the high cost of its RM305 million feasibility studies, as well as the nearly two year-long delay in its completion.

However Lim, who is former Penang Chief Minister, pointed out that the previous Barisan Nasional government had investigated the project for corruption and no action was taken.

“There was (even) a suit by me against Pas’s Nasrudin (Hassan Tantawi who made) a similar allegation, and you know, he withdrew his statement, expressed regret and even paid me legal fees of RM10,000.

“For those who try to (make this allegation), they must not only look at the facts, but this court case with Nasrudin. You’ve got to take this into account.

“These are lies not only directed at (me) but at four other exco members, and you know who the four other exco members are.

“I mean, it’s ridiculous… you know?

“I don’t know what sort of lies (Raja Petra) will make up, but are we going to be entertaining these lies?” he added.

In 2014, Pas information chief Nasrudin told the Penang High Court here that he regretted making a “baseless” statement on his Facebook account against the then Penang Chief Minister.

Lim had taken Nasrudin to court for the latter’s Facebook posting titled ‘Apa Beza Kidex dan Penang Tunnel’ (What is the difference between Kidex and the Penang Tunnel?).

In his post, Nasrudin claimed that the project was awarded through direct negotiation and not open tender as publicised.