The scandal is connected to a sale of government land again at undervalue – well, there is no direct benefit to the seller of the house, but the fact that the seller has a ‘business link’, even though remote, with the purchaser of the said land raises questions. As we know, sometimes these ‘gratification’ can very easily be given indirectly to hide ‘corruption’.
Tasek Gelugor MP Shahbudin Yahaya of Umno last Thursday dropped a bombshell in Parliament, insinuating that Lim was involved in corruption.Shahbudin accused Lim of purchasing a bungalow from Phang Li Koon at below the market price. Which isn’t all that serious, nor a crime.But what made the allegation serious was that Shahbudin linked it to the state’s government sale of land in Taman Manggis to a private company in 2012, which BN also claimed was sold at below the market price.
If a chief minister indeed gets a bungalow at a cheap price, in exchange for selling state land at a cheap price, then there likely is a case for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate.
1. Will police be speedy in cases involving BN leaders too ?
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wonders if police chief Khalid Abu Bakar will apply the same “unusually quick response” and professional diligence to police reports against BN chiefs, as they seem to when it comes to complaints against Pakatan Harapan leaders.
“The IGP had responded barely 48 hours after Umno Youth lodged a report against Ms Phang Li Koon, who sold her house to me, allegedly for making a false statutory declaration (SD). “However, we have never seen such a speedy response to investigate or call the prime minister or ministers as witnesses, when police reports are lodged against BN leaders over the 1MDB, RM42 billion, or the RM2.6 billion donation scandal,” said Lim in a statement.
This, argues Lim, only deepens his suspicions that BN is mobilising its entire government machinery against him.
“The IGP specifically said that I will be called as a witness. I will be happy to assist and co-operate, as I have nothing to hide,” he said. Lim, however, wonders if the police will be as forthcoming and earnest on their part.
“Can BN do the same? Will Ms Phang and myself be given the right to be investigated fairly, impartially, and professionally?” asked the chief minister. – Malaysiakini
2. DAP Lim Guan Eng : When will RM2.6b donor come forward like my house seller ?
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng continued his tirade against those attempting to pin corruption allegations on him over the purchase of a bungalow below market price. The DAP secretary-general said he had nothing to hide nor did the person who sold him the house for RM2.8 million. He then turned the tables on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak with regard to the RM2.6 billion political donation from a yet to be identified Saudi royalty.
“The person who sold the house to me has come forward. The person who donated the RM2.6 billion has not come forward.
“I have practised all levels of accountability, that are not practised by BN leaders,” he told a press conference in the parliament lobby. The former owner of Lim’s house, businesswoman Phang Li Koon had signed a statutory declaration (SD) that the sale of her house to the chief minister was above board, and denied any links to a company which had dealings with the state government. – Link
3. Malaysiakini : Why is BN linking bungalow to Taman Manggis land sale?
The original bungalow owner, Phang, does not have any interest in KLIDC, which purchased Taman Manggis land, so why is BN trying to link them together? While there is no direct link, Umno blogs have suggested an indirect link to Phang’s business partner as the majority stakeholder in KLIDC.
According to documents from the Companies Commission, Phang is the co-director of Windbond Management & Consultant Sdn Bhd, holding a 20 percent stake. Her partner in the company is Tang Yong Chew, who controls the remaining 80 percent of the company. Tang also the majority shareholder of KLIDC, which bought the Taman Manggis land, holding a 60 percent stake in the dental company.
Is this a smoking gun? Not quite. Lim pointed out that the Taman Manggis land was sold based on open tender.
Furthermore, Lim was not part of the tender committee, which was chaired by the state secretary, which awarded the bid.
So, while there is an indirect link between Phang and KLIDC, there is no evidence to show that Lim had used his position to sell state land cheaply, or was even involved in the deal. – Malaysiakini
4. Malaysiakini : The bungalow – sold at below market price?
Kediaman Ketua Menteri Pulau Pinang di Jalan Pinhorn, Jelutong di sini. NSTP/RAMDZAN MASIAM
Back to the much talked about bungalow at 25, Jalan Pinhorn in Green Lane. Lim bought the 10,161.13sq-ft property on July 28 last year for RM2.8 million, at or RM275.56 per square feet.The previous owner, Phang bought it at RM2.5 million, or RM246psf, on Sept 27, 2008. She had renovated the property and later rented it to Lim for six years at RM5,000 a month.
Umno blogs have compared Lim’s purchase to a another newly-renovated property on Jalan Pinhorn, which has a plot size of 4,983.690sq-ft and was sold for RM3.6 million or RM 722.36psf in 2014, to claim Lim’s purchase was way below market.
If the 2014 transaction is to be a benchmark, Lim’s property should be worth more than RM7 million. However, that is likely an exaggerated figure as the bungalows on Jalan Pinhorn vary starkly, from the rundown to the posh ones, thus the price can also vary widely. – Malaysiakini
5. DAP Lim GUAN ENG: I DON’T KNOW BUNGALOW MARKET VALUE
Lim Guan Eng said today he did not know the market value of the bungalow he bought last year for RM2.8 million. Speaking to reporters invited to view his house, Lim said he was not a property agent. Lim, who is leader of the DAP and chief minister of Penang, said the price had been agreed between him and the previous owner in 2012.
He said he had not taken it up as he was unsure whether he would be re-elected in the general election the following year, according to Star Online.
He was quoted as saying that the owner had agreed to hold the price at RM2.8 million, based on an understanding with his wife Betty Chew.
“I would not know the price. There was a verbal understanding,” he was quoted as saying.
Lim said he had decided on the purchase in July last year (about two months after the general election). “I needed to prepare money for the house, including monthly instalments. We needed sufficient funds to pay the balance of the purchase price,” Star Online quoted him as saying.
He has previously said he paid RM700,000 as down payment, with the balance of RM2.1 million on a bank loan. “It was only until I was re-elected and I had enough funds that I decided to purchase it in July last year,” he was quoted as saying.
“There is nothing extraordinary inside my house,” Lim was quoted as saying. “It is an upper-middle class house, but not in the Jesselton area in Penang. It is also not the Khir Toyo mansion.” – Malaysia Today
6. DAP Lim Guan Eng : “It is not a mansion and has no swimming pool,”
Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has refuted Umno’s accusations that he had bought a house he previously rented at an unusually low price.
Lim said the house on Jalan Pinhorn was 30 years old and was an ordinary bungalow lot.
“It is not a mansion and has no swimming pool,” Lim told Malaysiakini . – Malaysiakini
7. DAP Lim Guan Eng: I’m the chief minister, not a property agent
“I had replied to a question on whether the value of my house was RM6.5 million as alleged by Umno.
“I know the valuation of my house for stamp duty was RM4.2 million. What I did not know was how Umno leaders came up with a RM6.5 million figure (for the bungalow) because I am a chief minister, not a property agent. – Free Malaysia Today
On the other hand , the DAP has defended Lim Guan Eng’s ignorance of the market price of his bungalow, saying the Penang Chief Minister has an accounting background and is not a valuer.
“Can you expect an accountant to value a piece of land according to its market price? No accountant will know the land or property value before it is properly evaluated by a registered valuer,” Penang DAP publicity secretary Ng Wei Aik – The Star
8. DAP Teresa Kok: Bad feng shui led to bungalow sold at lower price to Guan Eng
Pic Source : FMT
DAP lawmaker Teresa Kok said the recent corruption allegations against Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng have been exaggerated to drown out the “Save Malaysia” congress. In her speech at the congress here on Sunday, the Seputeh MP said Lim obtained the Jalan Pinhorn property at below market value due to “bad feng shui”. She added that businesswoman Phang Li Koon sold the land and bungalow to Lim at RM2.8mil, compared to the market rate of RM6.5mil, because they are friends. – The Star
9. ‘Raja Bomoh’ Pledges to Rid Lim Guan Eng’s New House Of Supernatural With Ritual
Datuk Mahaguru Ibrahim Mat Zin, better known to Malaysians as the ‘Raja Bomoh’ (King of Bomoh) has announced that he will hold a special ritual outside the controversial new bungalow of Penang’s Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
Contacted by SuaraTV, Ibrahim said that he and his students will hold the special ritual to rid of the supernatural as soon as possible.
“My students has told me that there have been supernatural beings and ghosts haunting the house of the Chief Minister, so I have decided to hold a special ritual to chase them all out for him.
“Insyallah soon several exorcists and I will come to Penang to hold the ritual in front of his house,” he said. – The Coverage
10. Barisan Nasional Abdul Rahman Dahlan Questions For DAP Lim Guan Eng
Pic Source : FMT
“I raised the concern over the sale and purchase of YAB Lim Guan Eng’s bungalow at Jalan Pinhorn in March 2016, because I believed there are wrongdoings within the transaction and the people of Penang deserve nothing but the truth,” he said.
“Clearly, DAP’s slogan of being the most clean political party in Malaysia does not hold water, post Lim Guan Eng’s arrest by MACC today. Transparency and accountability must be practiced, not preached,” he added.
A. That the land and project valuation is now closer to RM70.6 million from RM11.5 million despite no physical work having been done on the land in almost 6 years?- If KLIDC were to be purchased for a total of RM70.6 million (as per the exposed signed and stamped agreements) and was done for the purpose of obtaining bank financing (as revealed by the KLIDC owner), would you agree that RM70.6 million is a good indicator of the true value of the Taman Manggis land and project – despite there not having been any physical development on the land for close to 6 years?
B. Was KLIDC reprimanded for the attempt to flip the land via a backdoor sale of all shares of the company?- Why was the Penang government not aware of this backdoor attempt to sell the land (purely intended to make a windfall profit)? Why hasn’t the Penang state government reprimanded the owner for attempting to sell the land (meant for the poor and low-income Penangites) though this backdoor transaction?
C. Planning and building approval given to a company with no reported employees and revenues- Please explain why the Penang state government still approved the planning and building approvals to KLIDC – despite KLIDC showing negative net assets, zero employees and no revenues – even to the extent of renewing and extending the Taman Manggis leasehold terms up to the maximum allowable 99 years in April 2015?
D. Land allegedly too small for 17-floor flats, but big enough for 30-floor hotel/medical centre – Why did you use the excuse that the Taman Manggis land was too small for a 17-floor low-cost housing project (meant for the poor and low-income Penangites), but the very next year after the RFP had been awarded to KLIDC – the same piece of land was big enough for a 30-floor hotel/service apartment complex and medical centre? – Free Malaysia Today
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