After Teng openly said Lim Guan Eng lied about payments regarding the undersea tunnel project, Lim says he will keep his word and sue the state BN leader.
Lim said he would sue Teng if the latter dared to name him and say that he had lied over payments regarding Penang’s undersea tunnel project.
Teng did so today at a press conference. Also, Teng said he would likely sue Lim for calling him a liar, without saying when Lim had called him a liar.
Approached later, Lim said now that he had been named, he would go ahead and sue Teng.
The probable court battle comes in the wake of a verbal battle over the proposed undersea tunnel project connecting Gurney Drive on the island and Bagan Ajam on the mainland. The project is still at the feasibility study stage.
Teng had said the Penang government’s claim that it had not paid “a single sen” for the undersea tunnel project so far was a lie. He told the state government “to stop the blatant lie” and admit paying RM11.2 million “in cash” as stated in a state assembly reply on Nov 2, 2017.
Lim fired back and reiterated that not a sen was paid for the undersea tunnel project itself. He said the state government had given two pieces of land for environmental studies in connection with the construction of three roads, said to be part of the tunnel project.
The “three main roads” project, also called the three paired roads, involves highways from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (5.7km), from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang (10.53km), and from Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive junction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (4.1km).
Lim then dared Teng to direct the allegations at “Lim Guan Eng” directly, so that he could sue Teng. He told Teng not to call the Penang government a liar, as the state had a policy not to sue others.
Teng took up Lim’s challenge today, despite calling it a “laughable and ludicrous” dare.
Teng then said he would also sue Lim for calling him a liar.
“I will not be intimidated by Lim’s legal threat. His purpose is to shut my mouth from exposing more scandals of the Penang government. I am doing it in the interest of the people of Penang.
“I shall repeat what I said at my previous press conference. The Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, lied in his reply to questions on the three highways which formed part of the undersea tunnel project unless he proves that all the documents I produced in supporting my arguments are fake and fabricated.
“I am producing the same documents to back up my claims. All his statements were reproduced from his posting in his official Facebook page,” Teng read out a prepared statement at the Penang Gerakan headquarters here today.
Teng said he had told his lawyers to study Lim’s accusation that he lied on this issue, saying he would “reserve his legal rights” to take him to court.
Later, in Komtar, Lim said he was aware of Teng’s fresh allegation directed at him and that he would proceed to sue him.
“Since he says I can sue him, I will just assume that he has addressed my question and we hope he won’t wiggle out of it,” Lim said.
The RM6.3 billion infrastructure project found renewed scrutiny from the Barisan Nasional following a fresh probe by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC).
The 7.2km undersea tunnel will connect George Town’s Pangkor Road and Bagan Ajam in Butterworth. It is scheduled to begin in 2023.
Its feasibility study, often a topic of contention between BN and opposition leaders, is now at 92%. The Penang government had said the project was low priority and could take off later, after the three main roads were completed.
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Sumber Guan Eng and Teng to sue each other over tunnel and roads project?