Following is an article adapted from The NST Online complete with responses by TTF (in blue):
GEORGE TOWN: Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng has described blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s allegations of corruption involving the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project as “ridiculous lies”.
“(The contract for the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project was awarded) through open tender.
“So how can there be corruption when there was an open tender?” he told reporters here, today.
TTF: In the first place, investigations by the MACC proves that the project award wasn’t though an open tender per se, but through behind-the-counter negotiations involving Guan Eng and the owner of the consortium awarded the project, Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli.
According to leaked documents, Guan Eng told Zarul that although the project would be tendered out, Zarul’s consortium would be awarded the job.
In other words, the open tender thingy was more show-and-tell than anything else.
But show and tell aside, whether or not a project is awarded though an open tender in no way justifies the idea that corruption couldn’t have gone on.
That’s like me saying because I did not know my wife in person prior to my wedding, there is no way in the world I could have entered a scheme with her to cheat my father in-law of his life savings.
Sometimes, I wonder if this Guan Eng fellow is an idiot or if he pretends to be this idiot.
Maybe he thinks we’re idiots.
The NST Online report continued…
In a recent entry in his portal www.malaysia-today.net, Raja Petra alleged that Lim and four other Penang state executive councillors were involved in corrupt practices involving the project.
He claimed to have been given a 200-page document by an individual at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC), and that he will produce extracts of its contents in several online instalments to expose the matter.
TTF: Minutes ago, I wrote:
A source has revealed that the MACC sought investigations by the police into the said leak, meaning, the MACC acknowledged that the documents RPK published were authentic.
But let’s forget the source for the moment.
Considering that the documents published were alleged to be excerpts of an investigation paper into the scandalous RM6.3 billion Penang Undersea Tunnel Project – dubbed also the biggest kickback-for-land fraud scheme in Malaysian history – only the MACC would know if the documents were legit.
So it wouldn’t make sense for the agency to seek police investigations into the authenticity of the said documents now, would it?
Doing so is akin to me asking the police to investigate if indeed I had sex with my wife last night – assuming, of course, I were to be married, which isn’t quite the case.
So the only thing the MACC can ask the police to do is:
a. to investigate RPK for publishing forgeries, or
b. to investigate RPK for slander and libel, or
c. to investigate how RPK got a hold of the said documents.
We can immediately strike a and b out given that the MACC would never have hesitated to clear its name in public by denouncing the documents RPK published to be fake.
That can only means the documents were indeed legit, which explains why Dato’ Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull is as quiet as that guy in Hospital Kepala Hotak Hang who’s suffering from Laryngitis and the reason the MACC waited after Semenyih to lodge a report.
I hope Guan Eng read this.
The NST Online report continued…
Meanwhile, the MACC has launched a probe into the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project as well as a separate probe into Raja Petra’s allegations.
TTF: Why would the MACC launch a probe into the Penang Undersea Tunnel Project or Raja Petra’s allegations?
Wasn’t the probe already launched, and didn’t RPK publish the results of the probe?
Haven’t I already shown you why the documents RPK published were legit beyond a shadow of doubt?
Is the MACC not aware of the results of its own probe?
Is this yet another attempt by the MACC to drag the tunnel issue to Timbuktu the way the agency is dragging investigations into my report against Ambiga to Pluto and back?
READ AMBIGA STORY HERE…
…AND HERE…
The NST Online report continued…
The RM6.3 billion development has long been a subject of controversy, especially with regard to the high cost of its RM305 million feasibility studies, as well as the nearly two year-long delay in its completion.
However Lim, who is former Penang Chief Minister, pointed out that the previous Barisan Nasional government had investigated the project for corruption and no action was taken.
“There was (even) a suit by me against Pas’s Nasrudin (Hassan Tantawi who made) a similar allegation, and you know, he withdrew his statement, expressed regret and even paid me legal fees of RM10,000.
“For those who try to (make this allegation), they must not only look at the facts, but this court case with Nasrudin. You’ve got to take this into account.
TTF: I published Nasrudin’s latest statement with regards to this issue yesterday.
The statement read:
SAYA percaya, serangan bertali arus yang dihadapkan kepada PAS sebenarnya adalah cubaan untuk menutup pekung isu projek terowong dasar laut di Pulau Pinang.
Pihak SPRM telah menahan seorang ahli korporat, membekukan empat akaun syarikat dan menyita beberapa aset yang dipercayai berkaitan dengan projek tersebut.
Adakah skandal ini turut membabitkan pemimpin DAP khususnya bekas Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang?
PAS menuntut Kerajaan Negeri Pulau Pinang pimpinan DAP untuk menyediakan satu butiran lengkap pelan asal projek terowong dasar laut tersebut.
1. Berapakah jumlah sebenar kos projek
2. adakah ia ditender secara terbuka dan sekiranya ia adalah tender terbuka, sila dedahkan perincian tender tersebut
3. apa sebenarnya terma-terma yang dipersetujui antara pemaju dan LGE, termasuk perjanjian pertukaran lot-lot tanah di lokasi strategik Pulau Pinang
4. kemukakan latar belakang pemaju dan semua rakan kongsi yang terlibat. Adakah mereka pihak yang berpengalaman dan berkemampuan untuk melaksanakan projek dengan skala ini?
Malah, kajian keboleh laksanaan (feasibility study) projek tersebut yang telah menelan belanja sebanyak RM305 juta masih belum dimuktamadkan sehingga Januari lalu.
Kini, rakyat berhak mendapatkan penjelasan sebenar projek ini setelah lebih setahun siasatan SPRM berjalan.
Justeru projek ini turut melibatkan kepentingan rakyat disebabkan terdapat dakwaan yang menyatakan bahawa kaedah pembayarannya membabitkan pertukaran tanah (land swap) dan menjejaskan ekosistem persekitaran.
Rakyat tidak boleh dinafikan hak untuk mengetahui status atau hasil siasatan skandal projek terowong dasar laut yang sedang berlaku sekarang.
Beberapa tahun yang lalu, saya telah membangkitkan isu ini dan saya telah disaman oleh Ketua Menteri YAB Lim Guan Eng pada masa itu.
Kini apa yang telah saya bangkit sejak awal dulu semakin menampakkan kebenarannya.
Bangkai gajah tidak dapat ditutup dengan nyiru.
Maybe Guan Eng should consider suing Nasrudin again.
MAYBE HE CAN ALSO CONSIDER SUING ME FOR WRITING THIS PIECE.
Adapted from:
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