Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has expressed sadness that he was implicated in the Penang undersea tunnel project by the blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin, who recently published purportedly leaked Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) documents on the matter.
Chow said he is still mulling action against the blogger and his website Malaysia Today, but the state itself cannot take legal action as it has not been implicated in the allegations.
"I feel sad when my name was mentioned, this is the first time in my 32-year political career," Chow said in a press conference today.
"We have our own discussion as to what action can be taken by us.
"This may be lodging a police report, filing a suit in court, waiting for the authorities to investigate, and for parties involved to make denials," Chow added.
Chow said mounting legal action against his accuser may be challenging as the blogger is living in the United Kingdom.
He added that he would probably have to file a suit in the UK if he decides to take legal action against Raja Petra, who posted a series of claims against Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and four other state excos including Chow.
Investigated since 2017
The blogger alleged that the five excos received bribes from the undersea tunnel contractor - Consortium Zenith Construction senior executive Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli.
"At this juncture, since there is a police report and investigation by MACC, we will wait for the probe to be completed," Chow said.
"The case was investigated since 2017 and 2018. Zarul has also received a letter from MACC saying there is no further action against him," Chow added.
Chow said he had never been called for an interview or to give a statement by the authorities.
However, he said reserves his right to take legal action against his accuser in future if the need arises.
According to the MACC, six investigation papers on the Penang undersea tunnel linking the island to the mainland in Butterworth have been opened.
MACC had said in a statement that five of the investigation papers have been completed and referred to the deputy public prosecutor, while three were returned to the commission for further investigation.
Two more are still studied by the deputy public prosecutor, and the remaining ones are still being investigated by the MACC.
"Lies"
Zarul has condemned Raja Petra's blog posts as "pure fiction", while Lim described them as "ridiculous lies", and both said the claims were meant to tarnish their reputation and those of the Penang and federal governments.
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed had also accused Raja Petra of being a "liar", while the MACC lodged a police report against him.
The three highways, which is 30 kilometres in length, was announced by the state government in 2015; they are the North Coast Pair Road, Gurney Drive to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, and Ayer Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
Insisting that the contract was awarded to Zarul via an open tender system, Lim, who was then Penang chief minister, had vehemently denied that corruption was involved in the project. - Mkini
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