Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on
Tuesday, 23rd December 2008:
No need for MCA to campaign in Kuala
Terengganu if Ong Tee Kiat not prepared to explain why he had hidden the
most important fact in his �chronology of events� on the RM4.6 billion
PKFZ scandal � the RM4.6 billion retrospective Cabinet approval in June
2007 to four unlawful financial guarantees given by two previous MCA
Transport Ministers
�Nothing to hide� - this was the front-page
headline of Sun yesterday on Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Ong Tee
Kiat�s �tell-all� press conference on Sunday on the RM4.6 billion Port
Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal � which told absolutely nothing!
Although Ong adopted the stance that he had �nothing to hide�, in actual
fact, he had hidden the most important fact in his �chronology of
events� on the RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal � the RM4.6 billion
retrospective approval given by the Cabinet in June 2007 to bail-out the
four unlawful �Letters of Support� which gave implicit government
guarantees issued by the two previous MCA Transport Ministers to the
money market for the RM4.6 billion bonds for the PKFZ project.
Both the two previous MCA Transport Ministers had acted unlawfully, as
they had no powers to issue financial guarantees committing the
government, which could only be issued by the Finance Minister and only
after Cabinet approval.
However, the Malaysian Government would have created a major crisis of
confidence in the international money market if the Cabinet had not
bailed out the two MCA Transport Ministers and given retrospective
approval to the four Letters of Support which gave implicit government
guarantees to the RM4.6 billion bonds issued by Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd (KDSB),
the PKFZ turnkey contractor, for the PKFZ project.
Can Ong explain why he had deliberately omitted this important fact in
his �chronology of events�, which need not have to depend on the outcome
of the Pricewaterhouse Cooper audit report? Or is he denying that
Cabinet had given such retrospective approval?
I am still waiting for Ong to answer the five questions about the RM4.6
billion PKFZ scandal which I had posed to him nine months ago,
particularly about the history of impropriety in land transactions,
illegal issue of Letters of Support, Cabinet bailouts and retrospective
ratification of illegal decisions by the two previous MCA Transport
Ministers, Tun Liong Liong Sik and Datuk Seri Chong Kong Choy.
Let Ong publicly furnish the answers to the five questions about the
RM4.6 billion PKFZ scandal or there is no need for MCA to help in the
Barisan Nasional campaign for the Kuala Terengganu by-election next
month.
*
Lim
Kit Siang, DAP
Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor
http://dapmalaysia.org