The Penang government today denied claims by MCA that the Acknowledgement of Commitment it signed with the contractor of the undersea tunnel project mega-project was not officially stamped.

Displaying the documents at his press conference today, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said: "We are a government, certainly the stamping was done."

Lim said he was publicly displaying the document in case MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong, who had queried about the matter, "pretended not to see it".

Lim went on to further explain that the Acknowledgement of Commitment agreement signed between Penang and Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd with Chinese firm China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd was signed twice.

Zenith was the special purpose vehicle set up specifically for the undersea tunnel project.

The acknowledgement was signed to ensure CRCC successfully completed the tunnel project, which is expected to see construction begin in 2023, with its completion slated for 2027.

Lim said the Acknowledgement of Commitment was signed by the three parties on Oct 29, 2013, and was legally binding.

"Don't say I just signed it yesterday," he added.

The chief minister said his state executive councillors have urged him to respond to Wee although he did not want to because "Wee was making a fool of himself by asking trivial and petty" questions about the project.

Lim also condemned The Star's report headlined 'Wee asks Penang govt tough questions'.

Wee had queried why there were no official stamps on the tunnel agreements, besides saying an Acknowledgement of Commitment was not legally binding, asking the Penang government to come clean on the matter.

"He is ridiculous and plays this kind of game all the time. I think I got better things to do," said Lim, who is also DAP secretary-general.

Lim criticised Wee for saying the agreements signed with CRCC were not legally binding but then had used the firm's statement to show that it was the main contractor for the tunnel project.

Lim reiterated the project was awarded to Zenith via an open tender process where "we chose the best price".

"Some items may be more expensive, some cheaper. You cannot just pick up certain parts," he said.

"Don't be like a blind man who decides how an elephant looks like. You must look at things in its entirety," he added.

The tunnel project is currently under a major investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, with 71 individuals being questioned and four arrested to date.

Media reports have quoted MACC sources as saying that the graft-buster was probing possible kickbacks to state political leaders in the awarding of the project.

The claims have been strongly denied by Lim, who insisted that not a cent or a square inch of land has been paid to Zenith.