Malaysian opposition figure charged with corruption, raising prospect of tougher crackdown on dissent
Prime Minister Najib Razak has targeted several critics but has not yet moved against Mahathir Mohamad – his predecessor and main detractor.
Malaysian opposition figure Lim Guan Eng was yesterday charged for alleged corruption in connection to property deals, raising fears of a wider crackdown on dissent by Prime Minister Najib Razak, emboldened by his party’s recent successes in two by-elections.
“He [Najib] is going to hit the opposition one by one … before the dissolution of Parliament,” said Lau Wen San, a state assemblyman from Lim’s opposition Democratic Action Party (DAP).
[This] is a clear act of political persecution motivated solely to destroy me as Penang chief minister
Lim, who is also the chief minister of the prosperous northern island of Penang, pleaded not guilty to two corruption charges involving the purchase of his RM2.8 million (US$700,000) bungalow at below-market price and the rezoning of a piece of land from agriculture to residential use, according to the official Bernama news agency.
“The two charges against me under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act and the Penal Code for corrupt practice is a clear act of political persecution motivated solely to destroy me as Penang chief minister,” Lim said on Facebook.
Lim was given bail of RM1 million.
The seller of the bungalow, businesswoman Phang Li Koon, was also charged with abetting Lim in acquiring the land and the bungalow. She denied the charges.