KUALA LUMPUR - With the public eye firmly on Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s RM2.8 million home, the state Umno Youth has signalled that more “evidence” will surface this week that they claim will answer questions over the purchase.
The state opposition party’s wing chief Rafizal Abd Rahim said that they were convinced there were corruption elements involved in house at Jalan Pinhorn, George Town, adding that they have shared their findings with federal graft investigators.
However, he was coy when asked if Penang Umno will also make public their purported “evidence”.
“Wait and see, but hopefully we do,” Rafizal told Malay Mail Online at the Umno headquarters today after his wing meeting.
The Umno man said that since the wing has submitted its findings to the MACC, it was only proper for the commission to complete its corruption investigation on the DAP leader first and announce “whether there is corruption or not”.
“We suspect that there is [corruption] there, but let MACC finish their investigations. One or two days, there will definitely be more evidence revealed,” Rafizal said.
He added that his wing also concurred with their PAS counterpart for Lim to take a leave of absence from work while investigations were ongoing over his house purchase.
“Guan Eng has to take a leave and only resume his duty later when MACC has finished the investigations.
“So we agree with PAS Youth in asking him to take leave. He should go on leave immediately,” Rafizal said.
He said the move was necessary was because Lim is a public official who is under scrutiny now for having bought property below market price from a party who has vested interest in a state government project.
Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Shabudin Yahaya publicly accused Lim of corruption last week, claiming to have proof linking the latter’s house purchase last year to a 2012 sale of government land in Taman Manggis to private developers to build a private hospital and hotel.
Lim has denied the allegation and insisted he was unaware of the market value of his property when he bought it.
He is currently in China on a three-day official visit and is expected to return home by the end of the week.
The previous owner of the house, businesswoman Phang Li Koon has also refuted the corruption allegations against Lim.
In a sworn statement read aloud by a relative to reporters in George Town earlier today, Phang said the sale price of RM2.8 million was decided via an oral agreement with Lim’s wife Betty Chew as far back as 2012 although the purchase was only formalised last year. - Malay Mail
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