BN Wants To Put Me In Jail For 20 Years For A Non-Existent Corruption Offence
Press Statement By Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng In Komtar, George Town On 1.7.2016.
BN Wants To Put Me In Jail For 20 Years For A Non-Existent Corruption Offence Of Approving The Rezoning Of A Piece Of Land In Balik Pulau From Agriculture To Housing That Is Still Agriculture Because Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang Rejected The Rezoning To Housing And Completely Unrelated To The Sale Of Taman Manggis Land.
When BN and BN Ministers launched their big “expose” of my so-called corruption scandal of buying my bungalow lot cheaply, they linked it to the sale of over 1 acre of government land in Taman Manggis for a hospital project they claimed is meant for the poor. Even though the Penang state government repeatedly explained that it was the previous BN state government that had wanted to develop Taman Manggis land commercially and that it had nothing to do with the purchase of my bungalow because the Taman Manggis land was sold off to the highest bidder by open competitive tender, BN continued their political conspiracy and attack.
The two charges of corrupt practice against me has finally exposed the political conspiracy of BN and its leaders, especially Minister in the Prime Minister Department Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan, as not only a coward and liar but also a dishonest hypocrite. There are no corruption charges against me relating to Taman Manggis. Despite all the hype and even threats for a public debate that Abdul Rahman then chickened out, nothing came out of the Taman Manggis land investigations proving the lies of BN.
Instead I am charged for a non-existent corruption offence unrelated completely to the sale of Taman Manggis land to KLIDC. I face the full might and entire machinery of the BN Federal government who wants to put me in jail for 20 years for a non-existent corruption offence of approving the rezoning of a piece of land in Balik Pulau from agriculture to housing that is still agriculture because Majlis Bandaraya Pulau Pinang(MBPP) finally rejected the rezoning to housing and the land remains zoned as agricultural.
What then is the benefit or corruption to the landowner, Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd(MESB), when there is no benefit accrued as the land remained zoned as agricultural? When MBPP rejected their planning approval on 1.12.2015, MESB was not allowed to pay their rezoning fees for it to be rezoned to housing. The State Planning Committee(SPC) headed by me did not intervene to direct MBPP that the land be rezoned to housing.
Where then is the illegal benefit or corrupt offence? And yet I face 20 years in jail when there is no benefit to MESB! Contrast this with the RM 50 billion debts from the 1MDB scandal or the RM4 billion donation scandal where there is not only a clear dishonest benefit but public funds have been used and yet not a single person is punished or charged for corruption!
Ordinary Penangites Know What Is At Stake Is Pakatan’s i-Sejahtera Program From A Clean Government.
The purchase of my bungalow is through a bank loan and my own allowances as Chief Minister. Unlike the corruption case involving former Selangor Menteri Besar Mohd Khir Toyo whose seller lost RM5 million, my seller made a small profit of RM300,000. In Khir Toyo’s case, the seller is a housing developer who had an active business relationship with the Selangor state government whilst my seller is not a housing developer and did not have an active business relationship with the Penang state government.
Unlike Khir Toyo’s case, there was no coercion or special favour granted to the seller of my bungalow. Further Khir Toyo was not detained overnight but I was detained overnight in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. There is no reason for me not to appear in court and prove my innocence as BN would definitely prefer me to escape and run away. Unlike khir toyo who has no personal relationship with the seller, my seller is my wife’s friend.
I want to thank my party and Pakatan colleagues for their support of me and my family during these challenging times. I also want to thank the public who came out on their own to show support and am touched by the many ordinary Malays and Indians who cried and hugged. These ordinary Malays, Chinese and Indians know what is at stake in BN filing corruption charges against me.
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BN Wants To Put Me In Jail For 20 Years For A Non-Existent Corruption Offence
CM Lim Guan Eng
June 30, 2016
For A Better Malaysia 