SHAH ALAM: A former senior civil servant told the High Court here today that he accompanied former housing and local government minister Zuraida Kamaruddin on two meetings with then finance minister Lim Guan Eng to discuss the status of a housing project for former plantation workers in Bestari Jaya.
KN Jayaselan, who was the national housing department director-general at the time, said the meetings took place at Lim’s office in 2018 and 2019.
“The meetings lasted about five minutes each. I was present during the discussions,” he said when examined by lawyer Nizamuddin Hamid.
Jayaselan was testifying in Zuraida’s defence to a defamation suit brought by Lim over her allegation in 2024 that Lim had rejected the housing project twice.
In his suit, Lim also named MalaysiaNow’s publisher MNow Media Sdn Bhd and editor Abdar Rahman Koya as defendants, alleging that they had published a report on the matter “to get cheap publicity”.
Lim and Zuraida were Cabinet colleagues between May 2018 and February 2020, when Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in power under then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
On Monday, Lim testified that Zuraida’s allegation had damaged his reputation, particularly among Indian voters in Kuala Kubu Bharu. He is seeking RM5 million in damages.
The Bagan MP and former DAP secretary-general said his former political secretary, Tony Pua, had issued a statement denying Zuraida’s claim, adding that she should have been more “careful before making any statements and spinning facts”.
Zuraida, who is relying on the defence of justification, fair comment and qualified privilege, said she made the statement on May 10, 2024 in response to the government’s announcement four days earlier on the project’s revival.
Jayaselan, who retired a month ago, said the first meeting took place after they found that the newly installed PH government in 2018 had shelved several housing projects, including the scheme for former plantation workers in Bestari Jaya.
He said the decisions at the time included that the implementation of public-funded projects would no longer involve direct negotiation. Zuraida then told him that she wanted to meet Lim for clarification on the Bestari Jaya project, which was among PH’s election promises.
He said in the first meeting, Lim told Zuraida that there were no changes in the policy and that all existing rules must be followed. Zuraida then informed Lim that she would meet the landowner, Berjaya Group founder Vincent Tan, to hand over the property to the government for the project to be carried out via open tender.
Under the previous Barisan Nasional government, the project was awarded to a contractor appointed by Berjaya through direct negotiation.
Jayaselan said in the second meeting, Zuraida said she had managed to persuade Tan to surrender the land to the government and that an open tender exercise would be carried out since it would be a government-funded project.
“Lim said the project could proceed, provided that existing procedures were followed,” he said.
When cross-examined by Lim’s lawyer SN Nair, Jayaselan said Lim had no objection to his presence at either meeting. He said only the procurement for the project was cancelled.
He said his department had to issue a letter of intent to the selected contractor and perform a cost valuation to revive the project.
Jayaselan: In our estimation, the project will cost about RM73 million.
Nair: So was there an outright rejection by Lim?
Jayaselan: No, the project was not cancelled.
Jayaselan said the project was not listed under the economic planning unit in the Prime Minister’s Department, following the collapse of the PH government in 2020.
He said it was only revived in 2024 when housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming announced it during the Kuala Kubu Bharu by-election.
The defence has closed its case, and judicial commissioner D Shoba Rajah will deliver her decision on Feb 25.
