KUALA LUMPUR -- Malaysia's former Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng on Friday pleaded not guilty to a corruption charge involving a $1.5 billion undersea tunnel project, after his overnight arrest stunned the nation and prompted his allies to accuse the government of "political persecution."
Lim, who is the secretary-general of the Democratic Action Party -- a major opposition group -- was detained late on Thursday by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to face the charge in the Kuala Lumpur High Court. Two additional cases against Lim are to be heard in the island state of Penang next week.
