Najib's questions are to trap me into committing contempt - Guan Eng

Former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng today said that he would not answer the 10 questions posed by former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak on the Penang undersea tunnel project, claiming that it was an attempt by Najib to trap him into committing contempt of court.

This came as Najib challenged him on Facebook three days ago to answer the questions, including on the 10 percent bribe that Lim purportedly asked from the contractor and is now the subject matter of his criminal case in court.

Lim, however, stressed that the project was done through open tender and was not awarded by him.

"Najib even challenged me to answer 10 questions on the tunnel project. This is a devious attempt by him to trap me for contempt of court.

"I shall not fall into his trap to answer 10 questions that may be sub judice, except to say that the tunnel and road project was awarded not by me but by open tender," he said in a statement today.

Lim and Najib had been having an ongoing battle in the media recently, especially after the DAP leader raised the issue of his detention by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Lim had accused the MACC of practising double standards as he had to don an orange uniform and spent a night in MACC lock-up, while the anti-graft agency had allegedly only detained Najib at another room in its headquarters.

This then led Najib to issue a statement to Malaysiakini asking if Lim thought he (Najib) had a comfortable stay at MACC headquarters like at a hotel.

“Do you really think that the MACC complex is a hotel for me to stay comfortably overnight or that MACC under your Harapan government then would have done me any favours?

“Unlike you, I was detained twice overnight by MACC - once for the SRC case in July 2018 and again for the 1MDB case in September 2018," Najib had said.

To this, Lim claimed that Najib did not have to spend time in MACC lock-up showed that the then Pakatan Harapan government did not interfere in MACC investigation.

He also called for MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki to answer where Najib was kept when the latter was detained overnight over the SRC International and 1MDB cases.

"Azam should answer me in a professional manner instead of challenging me to lodge a police report or take MACC to court for my comment in my Facebook post. In my Facebook post, I did not comment on my treatment by MACC officers whilst in their custody on Aug 6-7, 2020.

"I only asked MACC why my predecessor was not given a similar treatment as me, by being placed in the lock-up sleeping on a wooden prison floor without mattress and pillow, wearing the SPRM orange lockup T-shirt.

"Further, why were pro-PN government activists and bloggers privy to the knowledge four days earlier that I would be charged on Friday? Is MACC taking action or pretending ignorance against this leak of secret information?," Lim said.

He also took a swipe at Najib who was recently found guilty on seven criminal charges related to SRC International and sentenced to 12 years imprisonment and a RM210 million fine.

"Just like Najib not needing to be placed in the MACC prison lock-up, Najib can say what he likes even when he was sentenced by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to 12 years in jail and slapped with a RM 210 million fine over the SRC corruption case.

"However, I do not enjoy the privileges that Najib is 'entitled' to and will prove my innocence in court." - Mkini