Media statement by Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 2^nd March 2011: 

Chua Soi Lek and MCA leadership should declare their stand – whether they believe in Ling and Chan’s innocence or that both were “political scapegoats” for Umno

The MCA President Datuk Seri Dr. Chua Soi Lek and the MCA leadership should declare their stand – whether they believe that former MCA President Tun Dr. Ling Liong Sik and former MCA Deputy President Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy are innocent of the corruption charges which have been preferred against them when they were Transport Minister in connection with the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal or that both were “political scapegoats” for Umno.

Ling and Chan have made infamous Malaysian history for being the first two Cabinet Ministers to be charged for “grand corruption” in misleading the Cabinet in September/November 2002 (Ling’s charge) and the Prime Minister in February 2004, October 2005 and March 2006 (Chan’s charges).

Two of Ling’s contemporaries as Cabinet Ministers in 2002 are still MPs although backbenchers – Datuk Ong Ka Ting who was then the Minister for Housing and Local Government and Datuk Fong Chan Onn, then the Minister for Human Resources.

Other Ministers in the 2002 Cabinet of Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad included the then Deputy Prime Minister, Tun Abdullah, the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak (Defence), Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin (Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs), Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin (Youth and Sports), Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz (Entrepreneur), Datuk Seri Yatim and Tan Sri Bernard Dompok (Prime Minister’s Department).

Would any of Ling’s Cabinet colleagues in 2002, especially Ong Ka Ting and Fong Chan Onn, testify in court that they were not misled by him to approve Port Klang Authority’s purchase of PKFZ land, kicking off the RM12.5 billion PKFZ “scandal of scandals”?

Malaysians regardless of political affiliation would be interested to know whether the MCA President and the present MCA leadership believe in the innocence of Ling and Chan or that there is nobody elsein UMNO who should be hauled to court whether for criminal breach of trust or other corrupt malpractices to get to the bottom of the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?

Or do the MCA President and the MCA leadership believe that Ling and Chan had been made “political scapegoats” by the UMNO leadership when they are hauled to court for corruption charges in connection with the PKFZ scandal.

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