Court Returns Guan Eng S Passport As Pm Appoints Him Trade Official

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The Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court has returned DAP adviser Lim Guan Eng’s passport permanently after the latter was appointed the honorary chairperson of the Asean-China Association for the Promotion of Industrial Cooperation and Development.
The appointment was made by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
According to a statement on DAP’s Facebook today, Lim will nonetheless be required to report to the MACC office in Penang on the first week of every month.
The Bagan MP is on trial over four corruption charges involving the planned construction of Penang’s undersea tunnel and paired roads project connecting the island to the mainland.
Lim is accused of abusing his power as the then-Penang chief minister for the first charge to obtain RM3.3 million in monetary gratification as an inducement to appoint Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd to implement the project worth RM6,341,383,702.
On the second charge, Lim was alleged to have asked the company’s former director, Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli, for 10 percent of profits as a reward for helping his company secure the project.
He also faces two counts of dishonestly disposing of two plots of land belonging to the Penang government in Bandar Tanjong Pinang, worth RM208 million, to the tunnel project’s developer.
DPP’s objections
According to the DAP Facebook post, the prosecution had initially objected to returning his passport, with the deputy public prosecutor questioning the authenticity of his appointment letter.
“The prosecution objected to the application and even cited that Lim could be a flight risk if he got his passport permanently,” it read.
However, the statement said no evidence was provided to support the claim, given that Lim had made three applications for temporary passport release in the last five years, and always complied with the court’s directive.
As for the prosecution team questioning his appointment letter, the defence counsels called such allegations “unethical and illogical”. - Mkini

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