He said Teng should not “hide or run” by accusing the Penang government, but should instead accuse “Lim Guan Eng” himself.
He would then be able to sue Teng in court for lying and making defamatory statements, he said.
“(Teng should) courageously say that I lied when I said the Penang state government had not paid a single sen for the undersea tunnel and roads, so that I can take Teng to court to prove who is telling the truth.
“Should Teng fail to do so, then I can understand why Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong refused to name Teng as the choice for BN’s Penang chief minister even though he is state BN chairman,” Guan Eng told reporters here today.
Yesterday, Teng asked if the Penang government was lying over the facts on the RM6.3 billion project, despite repeated explanations by Lim and his executive councillor Lim Hock Seng.
Teng also said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project should be borne by the contractor, not the Penang government.
Both Guan Eng and Hock Seng previously said the state government had not paid any money to the contractor for the EIA, but had given it land worth RM208 million.
The project has come under scrutiny by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), with two Datuks from the construction companies which won an open tender in 2013 arrested in the investigation.
When contacted, Teng told FMT he would respond to Guan Eng’s remarks tomorrow.
The “three main roads” project, also called the three paired roads, involves highways from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (5.7km), from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang (10.53km), and from Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive junction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (4.1km).
The 7.2km undersea tunnel will connect George Town’s Jalan Pangkor to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth on the mainland. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2023.