Is Ong Tee Keat going to say in his Ministerial statement on Monday that he is taking legal action against me and therefore there is no need for him to give any accountability for the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?

Media Conference Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Ipoh on Saturday, 20^th June 2009:

My three questions (No.64 to No. 67 on the 22nd day in the current series) to Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat on the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal today are:

No. 1: In his blog from Paris, Transport Minister and MCA President, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has threatened to sue me for standing up for the public interest to get to the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal. He is trying to put words into my mouth, claiming that he had been defamed. That is his business. He can do what he like, whether he wants to sue me or not.

The turnkey developer of PKFZ has also announced its intention to initiate a series of legal proceedings against Ong, the Port Klang Authority (PKA) Chairman, Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), newspapers and others over the PKFZ scandal.

The public interest to get into the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal to find out how a RM1.1 billion scandal under Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr. Ling Liong Sik in 2002 could quadruple to RM4.6 billion under his successor, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy in 2007, again double to RM7.453 billion and heading towards the astronomical cost of RM12.453 billion under the watch of Ong as Transport Minister should not be blocked or buried by a pile of litigation suits.

If it takes 10 or 20 years to dispose of all the litigation that could be instituted over the PKFZ scandal, does it mean that nobody should ask any question or no answer need be given demand as to the causes and culprits of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal until 2019 or 2029?

Where will Ong be in 2019 or 2029?

Is Ong going to Parliament on Monday, as directed by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak, to say in his Ministerial statement that as he intends to institute legal action against me over the PKFZ scandal, there is no need for him to give any answer or accounting and that all should wait for the outcome of such legal proceedings?

This is my first question to Ong today, whether he would ever use legal action as an excuse that he need not give any accounting for the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, whether in Parliament or outside?

Question No. 2: Yesterday the website http://www.malaysiafreenews.com/ carried the following posting:

“PWC’s report on PKFZ shows that the PKA’s board of director had on 5 February 2008 approved the payment of RM1.2billion to KDSB, this is inclusive of 8.5% variation cost and the initial construction of RM95million however this is not inclusive of the professional fees of RM0.12billion.

“According to the said report, this payment is RM32million higher than the estimation of 63million made by surveyor earlier. This shows that the Board of Director had approved the payment in toto as requested by KDSB, but if fails to indicate or mention whether Ong supported the payment and made suggestion that the Cabinet should pass it.

“Food for thought, the PKFZ fiasco started as early as 2004, why did Ong support the payment to KDSB, does he not have to be responsible for this?”

What has Ong to say to this question. Will there be a reply by Ong to this query in his Ministerial statement in Parliament on Monday?

Question No. 3 – In September 2006, I spoke up in Parliament and outside commending Ong for speaking out against the “leakage” and misappropriation of public funds where only RM3,000 worth of work were delivered for a RM30,000 renovation for SJKC Kung Yu in Muar.

Does Ong think that his commendable stand in 2006 to expose the “leakage” of 90 per cent or RM27,000 of public funds in a RM30,000 school renovation is sufficient to justify his failure to “investigate all” and “tell all” about the RM12.5 billion PKFZ “mother of all scandals”?

How many RM30,000 school renovation work can be done with RM12.5 billion? Answer is 416,666 such projects!

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor