A Malaysian opposition leader was charged with graft and abuse of power over property deals, throwing rivals of Prime Minister Najib Razak's coalition further into disarray after recent election losses.
Lim Guan Eng, chief minister of Penang state and secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party, allegedly committed two offenses, the official Bernama news agency reported, citing court proceedings on Thursday. He pleaded not guilty and claimed trial, and was bailed on a 1 million ringgit ($249,000) bond, Bernama said.
Malaysia's opposition parties are in shambles and have splintered amid policy differences in the aftermath of the last general election in 2013. With one leader already in jail, and Lim facing charges that could potentially put him behind bars, it's becoming more challenging for the opposition to mount a coherent front against Najib, who has weathered graft allegations of his own and efforts by a former leader to remove him.
"The opposition is being decimated, and this process will go on for quite some time," said Oh Ei Sun, an analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore and Najib's political secretary from 2009 to 2011. "Najib is consolidating his grip on power."
"The two charges are a travesty of justice," Lim said in a press conference in Penang after he was granted bail. "I did not receive any benefits other than what was allowed."
Najib has denied wrongdoing and was cleared by the attorney general this year of graft over revelations that $681 million appeared in his accounts before the 2013 election. The money was a donation from the Saudi royal family and most was later returned, the government said. The opposition won 51 percent of the vote in 2013, though Najib's coalition gained more seats under a British style first-past-the-post counting system.
Opposition leaders lamented Lim's arrest.
"These latest moves are nothing but part and parcel of a vicious and relentless conspiracy to discredit Guan Eng and other prominent members of the Federal Opposition," said Azmin Ali, deputy president of the opposition People's Justice Party and chief minister of the state of Selangor.
The prime minister's press secretary declined to comment on the case as it is now before the court.
The MACC has been probing Lim's purchase of a bungalow at what his opponents said was below-market price. Lim said in March he bought the house in 2015 for 2.8 million ringgit from a private individual on a "willing buyer and willing seller basis."
The MACC said in March it was starting an investigation into the acquisition. It wrapped up that probe last month and submitted the results to the attorney general. The MACC said in a statement Wednesday that it arrested Lim on instructions from the attorney general.
Lim was charged on Thursday with allegedly using his position to buy the house below market value, an offense that carries up to two years in jail, according to the Malay Mail Online news website.
The second charge alleged he used his office to obtain gratification for himself and his wife by approving an application to convert agricultural land to residential land, the Malay Mail said. That carries a penalty of a jail term of not more than 20 years and a fine.
Lim became Penang's first chief minister from an opposition party in 36 years after winning in the 2008 general election. He is Malaysia's only ethnic-Chinese state leader. Penang, the country's second-smallest state, is one of its largest contributors to gross domestic product and home to foreign electronics companies including Intel Corp.
The case may cause further disruption for an opposition that failed to capitalize on the gains it made in 2013. Former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who led the alliance against Najib at the polls, was sent to jail again last year for sodomy, a charge he denies.
Opposition parties fielded multiple candidates for some seats in an assembly election last month in Sarawak, the country's biggest state. That helped hand the ruling Barisan Nasional grouping a bigger victory, while the Democratic Action Party had a weaker showing than 2011.
They repeated the folly in two by-elections for national seats this month, making it easier for Najib's party to win with a larger majority.
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