Media Statement by Tony Pua in Petaling Jaya on Sunday, 7^th June 2009:

Forum – The RM12.5 billion PKFZ Scandal: Will Heads Roll?

The cost has blasted out of proportions. DAP Parliamentary Leader, Lim Kit Siang exclaims that it is an “astronomical rip-off, a can of worms that has turned out to be a pit of crocodiles and alligators.”

In 2007, the Ministry of Finance extended a RM4.6 billion soft loan at 4% interest rate to PKA to salvage the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project. Now, it appears that they will have to extend an additional RM3.56 billion loan to cover the cashflow deficit over the next 20 years! As projected by PriceWaterhouse Coopers (PwC), this restructured financing will cost an additional RM5 billion in interest costs over the next 42 years!

The question now is, will heads roll over Malaysia's record bailout scandal, especially with existing Barisan Nasional leaders implicated by the project? Should the government continue to support the project with up to RM8.56 billion in tax payers' monies or should it cut losses and make better use of the funds for the rakyat in other more productive means?

To address the distress and concerns over the controversial oversizing of the PKFZ project, DAP Malaysia is organizing a forum titled “The RM12.5 billion PKFZ Scandal: Will Heads Roll?” as below:

Date: 10 June 2009
Start Time: 8pm
Venue: 2^nd floor, The KL & Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall, No. 1, Jalan Maharajalela, 50150 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Panelists will include:

• Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary Leader
  

• Tony Pua, MP Petaling Jaya Utara
  

• Teh Chi-Chang, Economic Advisor to DAP Secretary-General
  

• Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, prominent economist and ex-President of Transparency International Malaysia
  

• Kapten Yusof Ahmad, former pilot superintendent of the Klang Port Authority and pioneer general manager of West Port

• Izad Salehuddin, Foreign Investment Bank Manager

Amongst the distinguished list of panelists is Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, a significant Malaysian economist that have played an immense role to the economic development of Malaysia, including contributions towards the recovery of the 1997 Malaysian financial crisis. His previous experience as the ex-President of Transparency International Malaysia - an independent, non-governmental and non-partisan organisation committed to the fight against corruption – can further highlight the underlying problems of this scandal.

Adding to the gist of the forum is Kapten Yusof Ahmad, a former pilot superintendent of the Klang Port Authority and pioneer general manager of West Port. He is currently an active port & marine consultant and maritime arbitrator. His experience and contacts within the Klang Port Authority will shed light to the management of the PKFZ project.

* Tony Pua Kiam Wee, DAP National Publicity Secretary & MP for Petaling Jaya Utara