In a press conference right after posting a RM1 million bail, sponsored by Penang DAP at the George Town High Court, he vowed to fight tooth and nail for his innocence.
Lim said the two corruption charges against him were an attempt to overthrow him as CM of “the best governed state government in the country”.
“BN can humiliate me by unnecessarily detaining me overnight, but it will not succeed in changing white to black and black to white. Right cannot become wrong and wrong cannot become right.
“BN will not break my party’s unity — we stand together as leaders and members to battle for reforms towards a better Malaysia with freedom, justice and democracy.
“If BN feels that it can bend or break me by arresting me, they are wrong!
“I will die standing than live on bended knees. A free Malaysia, a fair Malaysia, a prosperous Malaysia for all is worth fighting for!”
Lim said he had explained to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) that his RM2.8 million Pinhorn Road bungalow purchase from businesswoman Phang Li Koon was above board. Phang is Lim’s former landlord.
“It was an arms-length transaction on a ‘willing buyer and seller’ basis without any coercion or special favours granted from me or the state government.”
Lim said Phang was his wife Betty Chew’s friend and had no “active business relationship” with the Penang Government.
“She is not a housing developer and the bungalow she sold me for RM2.8 million was built in the 1980s.
“There are attempts to draw similarities between my case and former Selangor Menteri Besar, Mohd Khir Toyo. This is wrong.”
Lim said unlike Khir Toyo’s case, Phang did not make a loss of RM5 million but recorded a small profit of RM300,000 from her original purchase price of RM2.5 million.
Lim added Phang was not a housing developer and she did not need the state government’s favours to carry out her business.
Explaining the Balik Pulau land rezoning issue, Lim said the rezoning application by Magnificent Emblem Sdn Bhd (MESB) was rejected by the city council.
“What benefit is there to MESB, when it could not get its rezoning approval from agricultural to residential when it could not get final approval from the Penang Island City Council (MBPP)?
“Sadly, there is no corruption with huge RM50 billion debts, or RM2.6 billion or RM4 billion in your personal bank accounts.
“But it is now corruption even when the alleged corrupt party did not gain any benefit,” he said.
Lim added the rezoning project was initially approved by the State Planning Committee but later rejected by the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) on Dec 1 last year.
When asked if he saw the corruption charge headed his way, Lim said: “I did not see this coming, I did not know there was a case against me.”