I gave RM2m to Najib, RM2m to Guan Eng: Witness

Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd senior executive director Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli testified he gave RM2 million cash to former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, and RM2 million cheque to former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng.

Star witness Zarul made the claim during cross-examination by Gobind Singh Deo, the lead defence counsel for Lim during his corruption trial today linked to the RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel project.

The 23rd prosecution witness claimed that in August 2017, he took out RM2 million cash from his safe for Najib, and RM2 million cheque for Lim.

Zarul: RM2 million to Najib, and RM2 million cheque to Lim Guan Eng.

Gobind: As far as you are concerned, RM2 million is for Lim and RM2 million is for Najib?

Zarul: Yes.

The witness claimed that he brought RM4 million to Eastin Hotel, Petaling Jaya, in August 2017.

Gobind then accused Zarul (above) of lying due to the witness previously testifying that the RM2 million was for businessperson G Gnanaraja.

Zarul, however, stuck to his guns, reiterating that he had previously made rectification to MACC that the RM2 million cash was only for Gnanaraja, which is separate from the other RM2 million cheque to Lim.

When Gobind accused Zarul of changing his story in order to pin all the blame on Lim, the witness disagreed.

The lawyer then informed the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court that the defence team is making a discovery application under Section 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) for the discovery of Zarul's statement recorded by MACC in 2018.

Trial judge Azura Alwi then set tomorrow for hearing of the discovery application. Deputy public prosecutor Wan Shaharuddin Wan Ladin led the prosecution team.

Previously on July 21, former Consortium Zenith Construction director Ibrahim Sahari testified that the RM2 million payment to Gnanaraja in 2017 was to help Zarul get closer to then-premier Najib in 2017 (the criminal trial had heard past testimony that Gnanaraja was close to Najib).

Back on April 3, 2019, before the Shah Alam Sessions Court, Gnanaraja was charged with allegedly deceiving Zarul on three occasions in 2017 into believing he (Gnanaraja) had political connections that could stop the MACC investigation against him (Zarul).

‘No further action’

However, the investigation paper of the cheating case against Gnanaraja was classified as “no further action” (NFA) when the businessperson pleaded guilty to an alternative charge under Section 218(1)(A) of the Companies Act 2016, and was fined RM230,000 on Dec 23, 2020.

Since then, Gnanaraja became a prosecution witness against Lim in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court trial.

It is the defence team’s contention that there has been suppression of evidence due to witnesses such as Ibrahim allegedly saying in the Shah Alam court that the RM2 million was for something else, while in the Kuala Lumpur court trial, he had last year testified that Zarul told him the money was a bribe for Lim.

In the course of the graft trial against Lim, Zarul had previously testified among others that he was “shocked” when Lim asked him for 10 percent future profits from the controversial undersea tunnel project.

Before the criminal court in Kuala Lumpur, former finance minister Lim is facing four graft charges.

One charge is framed under Section 16(A)(a) and Section 23 of the MACC Act.

Lim is accused of using his position as then-Penang chief minister for the gratification of RM3.3 million as inducement for helping a company belonging to Zarul to secure the island state’s RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project.

The offence was allegedly perpetrated at the Penang Chief Minister’s Office, 28th Floor, Komtar, George Town, Penang, between January 2011 and August 2017.

Under Section 23(1) of the MACC Act, the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years and a fine not less than five times the value of the gratification or RM10,000, whichever is higher.

The second charge, also under Section 16(A)(a), accused Lim as the then-Penang chief minister of having solicited from Zarul bribes amounting to 10 percent of the profits to be earned by the company as gratification for helping secure the project.

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