Chan Kong Choy should follow Chua Soi Lek’s brave example in taking responsibility for his actions by admitting that Chan exceeded his ministerial powers in signing financial undertakings granting government guarantees to the contractor in the RM 4.6 billion Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ) scandal
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Press Statement
by Lim Guan Eng
__________________
(Petaling Jaya,
Wednesday):
The statement by Johor MCA
Deputy Chair and Labis MCA
Division Chair Tan Kok Hong
that Health Minister Datuk
Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek was
“stabbed from behind by
certain parties who want to
destroy Chua politically”
confirms DAP’s suspicions
that the Soi Lek sex DVD
scandal is part of the dirty
internal power struggles
within MCA. Tan did not ask
the police to act but instead
pointedly urged MCA to act
against those involved in the
production and distribution
of the DVDs.
It is widely known that Chua
does not see eye to with
MCA’s top leadership. For
this reason DAP leaders have
taken the correct decision to
distance itself from this Soi
Lek sex DVD scandal as we do
not want to be used or
exploited for the benefit of
those involved in MCA
internal power struggles. DAP
would not be distracted by
this private scandal from our
focus of adopting public
policies that makes a
difference in the lives of
ordinary Malaysians
particularly 3 critical
issues affecting the people
such as:-
•
Sharing our country’s wealth
and Petronas profits with
ordinary Malaysians by
reducing the economic pain
caused by rising prices with
the government in a state of
denial, insisting that
inflation in 2007 is at only
2% when it is running at more
than 20%.
• Worsening crime index
rising by 6.7% for the first
nine months of 2007 where
Malaysians do not enjoy the
four basic rights of security
to live, work, study and play
in a safe environment; and
• Respect the rights and
dignity of all Malaysians as
first-class citizens by
ensuring political equality,
equal opportunity and
socio-economic justice
regardless of race and
religion.
Labis
Barisan Nasional chairman
Datuk Sulaiman Taha even
praised Dr Chua for being a
brave leader to admit the
deed and openly apologise for
his mistake. As a brave
leader, Dr Chua should know
what is the next honourable
step to take. However this
courage by Chua to admit his
misdeeds does not appear to
extend to MCA Deputy
President and Transport
Minister Datuk Chan Kong Choy
who has refused to account
for the RM 4.6 billion Port
Klang Free Trade Zone
scandal.
DAP calls on Chan to follow
Chua’s brave example in
taking responsibility for his
actions by admitting that
Chan exceeded his Ministerial
powers in signing financial
undertakings giving
government guarantees to the
contractor in the RM 4.6
billion Port Klang Free Trade
Zone scandal. Hanky panky in
the PKFTZ begin with the
purchase of 1,000 acres at
astronomical prices despite
objections by the Finance
Ministry and the
Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Such objections were
validated by questionable
cost-overruns to RM 4.63
billion from the original
estimate of RM 1.1 billion.
The MCA Presidential
Council emergency meeting to
discuss the Chua Soi Lek sex
scandal should also discuss
Chan Kong Choy’s unlawful
actions of signing financial
undertakings resulting in the
RM 4.6 billion PKFTZ scandal
Worse Chan and the Transport
Ministry unlawfully issued
four “letters of support”
which were used by the
turnkey contractor - Kuala
Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) - to
raise RM 4.6 billion bonds
and get an AAA rating from
the Malaysia Rating
Corporation Bhd for the PKFTZ
project. Why should the
public bear responsibility
for a RM 4.6 billion PKFTZ
bailout despite earlier
assurances that the PKFZ
project would be feasible,
self-financing and would not
involve a single ringgit of
public funds.
To-date Chan Kong Choy had
refused the answer the five
simple questions posed by
Parliamentary Opposition
Leader Lim Kit Siang in and
outside Parliament.
1.
Was it true that when the
Port Klang Authority and the
Transport Ministry insisted
on buying the 1,000 acres of
Pulau Indah land for PKFZ at
RM 25 PSF in the face of
strong objection by the
Attorney-General’s Chambers
and the Treasury which had
recommended that the land be
acquired at RM 10 PSF. And
that Cabinet had given its
approval of RM 25 PSF subject
to two conditions which were
not complied by Chan namely:
(i) categorical assurance by
the Transport Minister that
the PKFZ proposal was
feasible and self-financing
and would not require any
public funding; and (ii) that
every RM 100 million
variation in the development
costs of PKFZ would require
prior Cabinet approval.
2. The first condition was
breached when the PKFZ
project ballooned from RM 1.1
billion to RM 4.6 billion
requiring government
intervention and bailout
while the second condition
was breached with the
original PKFZ development
costs of RM400 million
ballooning to RM 2.8 billion
without any prior Cabinet
approval ever been sought for
every RM 100 million increase
in development costs.
3. The Transport Minister had
unlawfully issued four
Letters of Support to Kuala
Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the
PKFZ turnkey contractor — to
raise RM 4 billion bonds,
which were regarded as
government guarantees by the
market. The Transport
Minister had no such powers
to issue financial guarantees
committing the government, as
it could only be issued by
the Finance Minister and only
after Cabinet approval. The
first Letter of Support was
issued by the former
Transport Minister, Tun Dr.
Ling Liong Sik on May 28,
2003, which was Liong Sik’s
last day as Transport
Minister while the other
three were issued by Kong
Choy.
4. Whether it wasn’t true
that in recognition that the
four unlawful “Letters of
Support” of the Transport
Minister had nonetheless
given implicit government
guarantee to the market that
the Cabinet had in mid-year
to give retrospective
approval for the unlawful and
unauthorized four Letters of
Support by the Transport
Ministers in the past four
years creating RM 4.6 billion
liability for the government
in the bailout of PKFZ.
5. Why no action had been
taken against the Transport
Minister, both Liong Sik and
Kong Choy, as well as the
government officials
responsible for the unlawful
issue of the four “Letters of
Support”. Kong Choy
explanation that he did not
know that only the Finance
Minister can issue such
financial undertakings and
that he had no powers as
Transport Minister to issue
such Letters of Support is a
lie when he was a Deputy
Finance Minister Deputy
Finance Minister for close to
four years from December 1999
to June 2003.
Causing
losses to the public
resulting in the RM 4.6
billion PKFTZ scandal would
in legal and financial terms
be a bigger offence than that
committed by Chua Soi Lek. In
calling for an emergency
Presidential Council meeting
to discuss Chua’s sex
scandal, MCA President Datuk
Seri Ong Ka Ting should also
put his priorities right by
giving equal emphasis to
public interest in also
discussing the unlawful
actions of Chan Kong Choy
that has caused huge public
losses in the RM 4.6 billion
PKFTZ scandal.
(02/01/2008)
* Lim Guan
Eng,
Secretary-General of DAP |