KUALA LUMPUR, March 24 – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had received eight complaints from numerous quarters on the purchase of a bungalow by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. MACC Investigation Director Datuk Azam Baki said MACC had called several witnesses and collected related documents to enable a comprehensive investigation to be conducted on the case.
“MACC has also received many queries as to when a statement from Lim will be taken. His statement will be taken when the statements from witnesses have been obtained, and it will also depend on the situation after the documents are scrutinised and the statements of the witnesses are taken,” he said.
“Nevertheless, on Lim’s preparedness to cooperate with MACC and wanting investigation to be speeded up, Lim can come to the MACC office at any time to help in the investigation. MACC assured that, in conducting the investigation, the agency would carry out its duty independently and transparently as how it had investigated cases prior to this,” he said in a statement Wednesday.
In the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday, Datuk Shabudin Yahya (BN-Tasek-Gelugor), who is also Penang Regional Development Authority chairman, urged the Valuation and Property Development Department to evaluate the RM2.8 million property in Jalan Pinhorn purchased by Lim, who is also Bagan Member of Parliament, whilst the current value of the house is more than RM3 million.
Shabudin also urged MACC to investigate claims that the sale of several lots of land in Penang were said to be originally allocated for a project to build houses for the hardcore poor. Meanwhile, the owner of the bungalow, Phang Li Koon, in her statutory declaration on Tuesday, said she sold the bungalow on the grounds of willing seller willing buyer at RM2.8 million, which was agreed upon via an agreement dated June 23, 2014.
In the meantime, Phang also said that she did not benefit from the state government from the sale of the bungalow, and she was not pressured or coerced or influenced in an unappropriate manner by the Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng or any party to sell the unit.
