Ex-PPC top official freed on MACC bail
Chief minister and state officials greet ‘comrade’ upon release.
GEORGE TOWN: A former Penang Port Commission (PPC) top official, who was remanded as part of a corruption probe in connection with the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and roads project, was released by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after his four-day remand ended today.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and other state officials greeted the man at the state MACC headquarters at Northam Road here as he walked out at 1.05pm.
“Our comrade has been released on MACC bail this afternoon,” Chow told reporters.
Chow said he will be questioned by MACC next Tuesday along with his state executive councillors. He said the councillors from the past administration will also be called.
Chow was the Local Government Committee chairman when the project was mooted and awarded through an open tender.
Lawyer Ramkarpal Singh, representing the former PPC official, declined to comment when approached by reporters, saying the case was still being investigated.
Yesterday, MACC officers visited the offices of Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy and state executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari.
They did not question Ramasamy and Zairil but spoke to their staff and a trio of security guards on the 52nd floor of Komtar and left with Ramasamy’s work schedule over an unknown period.
The undersea tunnel and roads project was mooted by the state government to alleviate traffic on the first bridge.
MACC had raided three companies earlier, with a source telling FMT the crackdown followed the renewal of a corruption probe after the discovery of fresh leads.
Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the probe was a continuation of their investigation in 2017 and would now centre on the tunnel study worth RM305 million.
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