KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 — The Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project would not have racked up the hefty estimated RM12.5 billion bill if those in the know had broken their silence on the scandal years ago, Datuk Lee Hwa Beng (picture) has said.
The former Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman said these individuals were just as responsible as those who had committed legal wrong in the project that has seen two former transport ministers put on trial.
“When you are given responsibility, even when you are not involved in wrongdoing, you cannot be silent. It is your duty to tell. The whole episode happened because people knew but kept silent. Silence in the face of evil is also evil,” he said in a recent interview with The Malaysian Insider.
“If anyone had squealed in the past 12 years, things would be very different and it would not have snowballed into such an amount.
“If only one person raised the alarm… but nobody did,” he added.
The project, initially estimated at RM1.1 billion after it was mooted by then Transport Minister Tun Ling Liong Sik in 1997, more than quadrupled to RM4.6 billion by 2007.
A position review by top accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) revealed in 2009 that the total cost including interests from debt repayments could reach RM12.5 billion.
Since December 2009, six individuals have been charged in court including Ling, an ex-MCA president, and his successor as transport minister, former MCA deputy chief Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, who are accused of lying to the Cabinet.
Lee added that the duty to blow the whistle applied to every GLC and government body as they have public figures sitting on their boards as trustees for stakeholders they represented just as PKA had representatives from the prime minister’s department, finance and transport ministry as well as independent directors.
Posts Tagged ‘PKFZ
Today’s headlines on The Sun revealed that Port Klang Authority (PKA) has officially written to the Bar Council less than 2 weeks ago to withdraw the complaint against Rashid Asari & Co in a conflict of interest case when preparing the sale and purchase agreements on behalf of PKA for the PKFZ project.
The breach of professional ethics was first revealed by the special position audit carried out by PriceWaterhouse Coopers, commissioned by the then Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.
The Public Accounts Committee which took some 6 months to complete the follow up investigations endorsed the findings and made recommendations for those found in breach to be appropriately prosecuted.
Datuk Lee Hwa Beng who was the then PKA chairman had duly carried out his duties to file the necessary complaints against Rashid Asari & Co with the Bar Council.
However under the new Minister, Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha and new PKA chairman, Datuk Teh Kim Poh, they have conspired to reverse the decision as well as many other decisions which were taken previously by PKA.
Kong also withdrew all litigation against Kuala Dimensi
In addition to the above, PKA has also decided to withdraw all civil litigation against Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB)for failing to carry out as much as RM1.6 billion works – including double billings, ficticious billings for works never carried out and excessive charges to PKA. For example, KDSB was accused of making claims amounting to RM55.8 million and RM83 million for 33kv and civil infrastructure works which have yet to commence. These charges were similarly brought against PKFZ by Lee and Ong.
However at KDSB’s behest, with obvious motives to sweep the entire BN scandal under the carpet, PKA has agreed to proceed to the arbitration instead despite the obvious criminality of the alleged offences. The CEO and shareholder of KDSB was Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who is also the Member of Parliament for Bintulu and BN Backbenchers Club.
Datuk Seri Kong has also directed that all payments which are due to KDSB be paid to the latter’s bondholders despite the decision to withold payment by the previous PKA Board. The decision to withold was because of the earlier mentioned legal dispute.
Jeopardising PKA’s own interest
By proceeding to pay KDSB, PKA is basically jeopardising its own interest by making such payments before the Court has decided as to whether such payments are due. The payment amounts to nearly RM700 million annually and has since been paid promptly by the current PKA.
Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha must answer as to why he has almost single-handedly unravelled all which were in the process of being done to bring to book the guilty parties and to safeguard the interest of Malaysian tax-payers.
As a result of all the past abuse and mismanagement, the Government’s bill for the project will increase to RM12.5 billion. The sheer lack of urgency to resolve the matter by the Minister demonstrates clearly that powerful political interests are being protected at the expense of the Government.
Tony Pua is the DAP MP for PJ Utara
KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — Despite five years of exposés on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal that could cost taxpayers up to RM12.5 billion, the ex-chairman of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) says authorities have only hit the “tip of the iceberg”.
Datuk Lee Hwa Beng also suggested that only political change could result in independent investigations unhindered by vested interests.
The book will be launched on Tuesday and available in bookstores soon after.
He said earlier this week that there were many questions on the project that were still unanswered, during an interview ahead of next Tuesday’s release of his book, “PKFZ: A Nation’s Trust Betrayed”, which chronicles the story of the project first mooted in 1997 and included insights from his three years as PKA boss when the controversy erupted, as well as his role in the investigations.
The book, co-written by Lee with former journalist Lee Siew Lian, is being published by The Malaysian Insider and is expected to be available in major bookshops soon after next Tuesday’s launch.
“Outside of PKA, a lot of things happened. It might come out in the court cases. OC Phang’s trial will probably reveal even more facts,” Lee said of the former PKA general manager who served from 1997 to 2008, when the cost of the project ballooned from RM1.1 billion to RM4.6 billion.
She is currently on trial for three counts of criminal breach of trust involving over RM254 million related to the PKFZ.
“In the transport ministry, there are so many things that happened, which we won’t know about, that might not be revealed in the court cases. Only the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) have the power to dig (these) out.
“The six that are on trial were not charged with corruption. Without that, the money trail won’t come out,” he said, referring to the prosecution of the half dozen individuals including two former transport ministers.
What’s happening right now is not even the curtain raiser. It has not even begun yet!
The former Subang Jaya assemblyman for MCA added that political change was needed so that port officials will not be obstructed by those with vested interests.
“This is not the end of the story, there is more to be unravelled and unearthed. It is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said in a recent interview with The Malaysian Insider.
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Only ‘tip of iceberg’ so far, ex-PKA boss says of PKFZ scandal
April 13, 2012 – TMI
All previous directors of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) under whose watch the nation lost more than RM12 billion in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal have been let off the hook.
This deals a severe blow to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat’s promise to bring to book all those responsible for the scandal and the current Board’s undertaking to leave no stone unturned to hold its predecessors responsible for the massive losses.
At its meeting two weeks ago, the PKA board decided not to take any form of action against members of previous boards which allowed the management of PKFZ to enter into dubious and non-existent deals.
The 11 directors “reached a consensus” that although the previous directors failed in their fiduciary duties; it was not intentional as “they did not personally gain from such breaches”.
However, they remained optimistic that the authorities would initiate prosecution if anyone of them had pecuniary interests or benefited from the decisions made by the board.
March 18, 2010 – tonypua.blogspot.com
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While the initial actions taken by the government to charge a few individuals were trumpeted as the Government’s strong commitment to fight against institutionalized corruption, their failure to date to take any follow up actions have proven that Datuk Seri Najib’s administration is all-bark and no-bite. It will serve as a major black mark against the “Government Transformation Programme” campaign where “fighting corruption” is the major pillar.
What is worse, the Government is attempting to cover up the non-viability of PKFZ with misleading positive media reports on its performance. Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had proudly announced in January this year that PKFZ “had returned” to the black with RM15 million in revenue and RM5.2 million in operational profits. He has however failed to mention the fact that the interest alone for the 4% soft loan worth RM4.632 billion granted by the Government to bail out the project costs PKFZ RM185 million per annum.
This means that PKFZ is far from turning around and its debt is only increasing by hundreds of millions by the year. In fact, the Government might well do better in its fight to contain its budget deficit by disposing of the project than to continue putting good money after bad investments in this case.
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As with a staggering number of industrialization projects dreamed up by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, the Port Klang free zone appears to have served as a kind of gigantic smorgasbord from which officials picked out whatever they wanted to enrich themselves. In September, police froze the bank accounts of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the corporate entity with the contract to build the port, while they attempt to sort out what happened.“I believe they will nail a few people,” said a Kuala Lumpur observer with ties to the United Malays National Organization. “The scandal is too big to ignore. But how severe their punishment will be remains to be seen. Some will certainly go to jail. Lots of Umno guys are behind it, but they’re medium fry. The main culprits are the MCA guys plus Tiong.”
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FORMER transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik should also be investigated for his part in the Port Klang Free Zone (PFKZ) scandal, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya) said today.
Pua, who made the call following the release of the PAC report on the fiasco last week, said Ling had displayed “selective memory loss” during his testimony to the committee.
He said the former MCA leader had answered “I cannot remember” or its equivalent at least 11 times when posed with certain key questions regarding the project, which raised doubts as to the veracity of his replies.
“The situation even reached a point of incredulity when PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) asked: ‘Tun, did you know of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd or KDSB (the PKFZ turnkey developer), before you left the ministry?’ and Ling responded with ‘I may have heard about it’.”
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Husna Yusop and Giam Say Khoon at the Dewan Rakyat
Nov 9, 2009 – the Sun
KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 9, 2009): FORMER transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik should also be investigated for his part in the Port Klang Free Zone (PFKZ) scandal, Public Accounts Committee (PAC) member Tony Pua (DAP-Petaling Jaya) said today.
Pua, who made the call following the release of the PAC report on the fiasco last week, said Ling had displayed “selective memory loss” during his testimony to the committee.
He said the former MCA leader had answered “I cannot remember” or its equivalent at least 11 times when posed with certain key questions regarding the project, which raised doubts as to the veracity of his replies.
“The situation even reached a point of incredulity when PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw (DAP-Kepong) asked: ‘Tun, did you know of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd or KDSB (the PKFZ turnkey developer), before you left the ministry?’ and Ling responded with ‘I may have heard about it’.”
“We felt a bit bizarre over his answers,” Pua told reporters at the parliament lobby.
He said a thorough investigation must be conducted on the role that Ling played in the project.
Ling had denied that the ministry had any role in the finalisation of the land purchase agreement with KDSB, and placed the responsibility on the Finance Ministry which was headed by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in 2001 and 2002.
But the testimonies of government officers and the letters by the Valuation and Property Services Department contradicted this.
They had confirmed it was the Transport Ministry which had repeatedly asked for the value of the land to be revised from RM17 to RM25 a sq ft without interest when, in fact, the Treasury had not authorised for any revision in purchase price, he said.
“The ministry under Ling had (allegedly) either defied a Treasury order dated June 12, 2001 and advice from the attorney-general (AG) for the land to be acquired compulsorily or strongly argued against doing so in securing the cabinet approval for the project,” Pua said, adding that Ling must explain the matter.
He said Ling had issued a letter of support for the project in 2003. Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail had informed the PAC that the word of the government was worth its weight in gold, hence even if the letter did not specifically contain elements of guarantees, the government was obliged to honour its words.
“Therefore, Ling had also committed the government to bearing the (alleged) cost of the project amounting to RM1.31 billion,” he said.
“There were many other instances of wrongdoings which were highlighted in the PAC report that occurred during the time that Ling was the transport minister and it defies belief that he had little knowledge or could not remember at all what took place during that period.”
Former Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager Datin Paduka O.C. Phang named former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and former transport minister Chan Kong Choy as the officials responsible for approving the purchase of land in a single phase and not two phases, incurring more costs than the initial Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) plan.
Phang said the purchase of the land was made during the tenure of the other transport minister Tun Ling Liong Sik. Phang further said the ministers acted so upon the advice and suggestions by the Jebel Ali Free Zone International (JAFZA).
According to Phang, in the initial plan, PKFZ was to be developed in two phases. The first phase was to involve 500 acres and PKA was supposed to develop the first 500 and later the rest in Phase Two. Nevertheless, the then PM and transport minister (Abdullah and Chan) gave orders to PKA on March 3 2004 to develop 1,000 acres.
Throughout the proceedings, Phang said all the ministries involved knew of this, and the cabinet had in fact agreed to approve the purchase of 1,000 acres on a “willing seller willing buyer” basis with Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd owned by Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.
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Continue reading ‘PKFZ Scandal: Former PKA GM blames others’
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But PAC also recently announced that it was planning to investigate the RM6 billion double-tracking project, after recent revelations that the project has been managed poorly, resulting in losses amounting to more than RM1 billion so far.According to this year’s audit report, the government may have to bear part of the RM1.14 billion loss in the 179km double-tracking rail contract between Rawang and Ipoh as the project was poorly managed.
But Chan told the PAC that the double-tracking project is “three times the size” of PKFZ.
“No, it is not the biggest (project under the Ministry of Transport). Double-tracking project is much bigger. It is 12 almost 13 billion? It is three times the size of this project (PKFZ).
“We are talking only the northern, the southern part is almost four billion,” he said in his testimony to PAC on PKFZ.
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More than 80 per cent of the current Cabinet knew of the problems related to the PKFZ long before the rest of the country got a whiff of the stench of wrongdoing, negligence, and incompetence. They knew that former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy overstepped the boundaries by issuing three letters of support to facilitate fund-raising for the project.Sure, he argued strenuously that the letters only amounted to letters of support but the Cabinet knew better. The ministers knew that the letters amounted to a government guarantee.
The Cabinet knew that the government had overpaid for the PKFZ land. It also knew procedures were overlooked and laws broken and in June 2007, even recommended that action be taken against guilty parties.
So the country’s top leadership cannot feign ignorance or exhibit any surprise at the disclosures made in the PAC report.
They knew all along. They were just counting on the PKFZ scandal to go away, just like all the other scandals in the country.
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Continue reading ‘Cabinet knew all along about PKFZ problems’
