Penang’s ‘Uncle Lim’ gives up to MACC

68-year-old retiree, who is embroiled in an alleged bribes-for-affordable homes racket, voluntarily checks himself into state MACC's headquarters, with his DAP rep daughter and lawyer in tow.



GEORGE TOWN - The elusive “Uncle Lim”, who has been accused of running a bribes-for-homes racket in Penang, turned himself in at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) office here today.

State MACC Director Abdul Aziz Aban said his officers had been looking for Lim Keat Seong, 68, after the exposé, but could not locate him.

He said the retiree, however, voluntarily came to the MACC office about 1pm today to facilitate investigations into the matter.

“Keat Seong has given us his cooperation. He arrived with his daughter (Sungai Pinang DAP rep Siew Khim) and a lawyer.

“Too early for us to say anything further at this point,” he said when contacted.

On Sunday, Penang Kini, a local political news aggregator on Facebook, uploaded a video depicting Keat Seong, who is the father of Sungai Pinang Assemblywoman Lim Siew Khim, as an alleged agent or middleman to obtain affordable homes.

In the video, it appears as if the 68-year-old retiree, “Uncle Lim” (Keat Seong), was berated by unhappy customers who were promised affordable housing units, but did not obtain them.

The video was believed to have been shot secretly at a coffee shop late last year.

A mediator was also seen arranging to return money to aggrieved customers in instalments.

It was alleged that Uncle Lim sought a RM260 consultant’s fee, among other miscellaneous fees, in order to secure affordable housing for his customers.

Siew Khim immediately distanced herself from her father, saying she was unaware of her his alleged deeds.

She denied being involved in the matter and also said Gerakan had tarnished her name by insinuating she was part of the racket.

She said her father was not in a position to influence the decision-making process in selecting candidates for affordable housing.

Penang Gerakan demanded answers from the state government and said it should make public the names of successful candidates for affordable housing.

The party said it would meet Governor Abdul Rahman Abbas to discuss the possibility of holding a Commission of Inquiry into the matter since the Penang Government appeared to be nonchalant about it.

Penang Housing Committee Chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo meanwhile denied the existence of Uncle Lim’s racket, saying there was no way people could pay themselves into “shortcutting” the stringent selection process.

By Predeep Nambiar