‘Nothing wrong in reading out Phang’s SD’

GEORGE TOWN: Penang Environment, Welfare and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh (pix) sees nothing wrong in reading out the statutory declaration (SD) of Phang Li Koon who sold a bungalow to Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng last year.
He said he was entrusted to do so during a press conference on Tuesday as Phang was a family member and was not a basis to discredit the SD.
He said Phang was an innocent party being needlessly dragged through the episode and stressed the declaration was made of her own free will.
He said the declaration stood with or without her presence in front of the media and that she was entitled to exhaust all legal avenues, including lodging a police report.
"As a member and advisor to the Phang Clan, I will personally advise and encourage her to lodge that report," he said in a statement.
In taking to Twitter, Urban Wellbeing, Local Government and Housing Minister Datuk Abdul Rahman described Phee reading the SD as "weird".
"I hope Ms Phang can come out in public to answer questions. Surely that would give more credence to her defence of LGE," the Barisan Nasional strategic communications director said in his account.
Lim is under investigation over the purchase of the house in Jalan Pinhorn here where the purchase is alleged to be under the market value and has been linked to the sale of state land in Taman Manggis here.
In her SD, Phang said the RM2.8 million price was verbally agreed to in 2012 and an agreement to that effect was entered into in 2014.
She also said she was neither a director nor shareholder of the company which won the bid for the state land nor was she involved in the management of the company.