In a statement today, Teng said he had instructed his lawyers to take Lim to court for defaming him two days ago.
“In his press conference yesterday, the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, has decided to sue me.
“However, the Chief Minister of Penang, Lim Guan Eng, is still avoiding the pertinent questions I had raised, which were derived from his Facebook postings and state legislative assembly answers.
“Lim’s claim of letting the court determine the truth of the undersea tunnel project, is an act of avoidance,” Teng said today.
The court battle comes in the wake of a spat over the proposed undersea tunnel project connecting Gurney Drive on the island and Bagan Ajam on the mainland. The project is still at the feasibility study stage.
Teng had accused the Penang government of lying when it claimed that it had not paid “a single sen” for the undersea tunnel project so far.
He told the state government “to stop the blatant lie” and admit to paying RM11.2 million “in cash” as stated in a state assembly reply on Nov 2, 2017.
Lim said the RM11.2 million sum was payment to an engineering firm to verify and certify designs and claims made by the project’s contractor.
He reiterated that not a sen was paid for the undersea tunnel project itself. He said the state government had given two pieces of land for environmental studies in connection with the construction of three roads which were part of the tunnel project.
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).
Lim then dared Teng to direct the allegations at him so that he could sue Teng. He told Teng not to call the Penang government a liar, as the state had a policy not to sue others.
Teng took up Lim’s challenge yesterday, despite calling it a “laughable and ludicrous” dare.
Teng then said he would also sue Lim for calling him a liar.
Meanwhile, in a separate press conference today, Lim said apart from Teng, he would also sue the New Straits Times, Berita Harian, The Star and Utusan Malaysia over what was said by Teng.
Lim told the publications to “wait for our letters”, and added that the action taken against the mainstream publications was because he “needed a platform to sue Teng”.
The RM6.3 billion infrastructure project came under renewed scrutiny from BN following a fresh probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
The 7.2km undersea tunnel will connect George Town’s Pangkor Road and Bagan Ajam in Butterworth. It is scheduled to begin in 2023.
Its feasibility study, often a topic of contention between BN and opposition leaders, is 92% completed. The Penang government had said the undersea tunnel project was of low priority and could take off later after the three main roads were completed.