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No. 4753 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Thursday
May 7, 2009
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INTERVIEWS VIEWS

life

Act fast on
PKFZ fiasco
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

P
ETALING JAYA: The damning
disclosures in the audit report on
the Port Klang Free Zone project
have prompted calls for a swift
probe and a call to annul deals that
were done without full disclosure of
conflicts of interest.
In reaction to theSun’s front-page
story yesterday on the audit report
which is to be made public soon,
Transparency International-Malaysia
president Datuk Paul Low called for
prompt action “with full force of the
law” against the parties involved.
He said an annulment was vital,
and corruption must be promptly
and diligently investigated by the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commis-
sion (MACC).
theSun’s report said the audit by
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had
detailed a series of conflict of interest
situations. Among them:
» Sementa assemblyman Datuk Ab-
dul Rahman Palil was both the Pulau
Lumut Development Cooperative
(KPPL) chairman and a Port Klang
Authority (PKA) director in 2002
when the land for PKFZ was sold by
KPPL to PKA;
» Rashid Asari & Co, the legal firm
retained by PKA, was also the same
firm overseeing the inking of the sale
and purchase agreement between
KPPL and turnkey contractor Kuala
Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB).
Its senior partner Datuk Abdul
Rashid Asari was the deputy chief of
Umno’s Kapar division, where Tan
Sri Onn Ismail is an exco member.
Onn was the KPPL chairman and his
son-in-law Faizal Abdullah, the then
Kapar Umno division youth chief,
is also the deputy CEO of Wijaya Baru
Global Bhd (WBGB), the firm appointed
by KDSB as the main subcontractor;
» Perunding BE Sdn Bhd, appointed
by PKA as the independent quantity
surveyor for PKFZ, was also a quantity
surveyor for KDSB;
» PKA’s board of directors was not
advised that the chairman of PKA at one
time was also the deputy chairman of
WGBG;
» KDSB directors Omar Latip and Idris
Mat Jani are also directors and share-
holders of WBGB.
Low said the disclosure reveals
“blatant abuses in the stewardship of
public assets” and deals that reflected a
lack of transparency, conflict of interests
between the parties involved, involve-
ment of politicians, the inflated prices
of the transactions, and questionable
transactions.
He said it indicated a malaise of mix-
ing politics with the proper administra-
tion of government assets.
“It is therefore appropriate for the
(Datuk Seri) Najib Abdul Razak admin-
istration to review the way transactions
are conducted and procurement made
in all government agencies so that
similar ‘leakages’ and abuses can be
prevented,” he said.
“Malaysia can ill afford maladmin-
istration and fiascos like this when the
well-being of the economy is highly
dependent on international trade.”
Other reactions:
» Former premier Tun Dr
Mahathir Mohamad said he was
not aware about the RM1 billion
PKFZ land deal although it was
reportedly made during his time in
2002.
He said he had heard there were
some elements of wrongdoings in-
volved, which were not criminal in
nature, but he received no official
report about it.
“I was not aware but what I
know (is) there have been instances,
which are not criminal but morally
wrong, in which state governments,
whenever they hear that we want to
build a road, they allocate the land
to some members of the executive,”
he said.
“Then, we have to buy the land
from those people. This has hap-
pened. And it is something that is
morally wrong.”
Asked whether he had offered
any advice when he heard of such
instances, he said: “People don’t
want to make a proper report, (they)
just tell me this is what happened.”
» Gerak Malaysia, the civil move-
ment against corruption, urged the
MACC to leave no stone unturned
in its investigations.
Its chairman, Mohd Nazree
Mohd Yunus, said it was important
for MACC to speed up its investiga-
Nice job, Ben
B RITON Ben Southall, 34, holds his t-shirt which says ‘The best job
in the world’. The charity fundraiser emerged from 16 finalists
yesterday to clinch the dream job – explore the islands of the Great
Barrier Reef for six months and report back to Tourism Queensland and
the world via blogs, a photo diary, video updates and interviews. If he
likes, he could also feed the fish, collect the mail and clean the pool.
The reward? A$150,000 (RM396,000). »
Story on Page 7
tion and haul in those responsible the report.
for the ballooning of the project cost, On Monday, PwC agreed to give
as well as other irregularities behind consent, subject to certain terms
the project. and conditions.
“Those who profitted from the Lee said he is calling for an
deal, either politicians or business- emergency board meeting to seek
men, must be brought to face the the board members’ approval on
law.” the terms and conditions for the
» PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa release of the report.
Beng said the audit finding will be He said he had informed Ong of
made public soon but did not give a this matter.
specific date. “I have also given my assurance
In a statement, he said follow- that the matter would be sorted out
ing the instructions of Transport as soon as possible,” he said.
Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to » Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who
release the position review of PKFZ is the majority shareholder of KDSB
within seven days, he had written to and a director of WGSB, declined to
PricewaterhouseCoopers on April 30 comment, saying he had instructed
to seek consent to publicly release his lawyers to look into the matter.

Another pregnant woman dies in snatch theft

KOTA BARU: A woman who was three
months pregnant died yesterday after
her handbag was snatched by a man
in Kampung Padang Raja here, causing
her to fall from her motorcycle.
She was the second pregnant
woman to die in a snatch theft inci-
dent in four days.
Saripah Mohd Noor, 33, was return-
ing to her mother’s house in Tumpat
when her handbag was snatched,
causing her to lose control of her
motorcycle and being struck by a car
coming from the opposite direction at
about 10.50am.
“She suffered multiple injuries and
died on the spot,” Kota Baru OCPD
ACP Zahruddin Abe told reporters.
Saripah’s husband, Mat Jani Awang,
39, said she had gone to her mother’s
house in Kampung Tok Dollah, Tumpat
three days ago to visit their two chil-
dren who were being looked after by
her mother.
The couple have three more
children, Bernama quoted Saripah’s
brother Riduan, 25, as saying.
On Sunday, Jamilah Selamat, 31,
fell from her motorcycle when snatch
thieves tugged at her handbag. Jami-
lah, who was two months pregnant,
died without regaining consciousness
at Sultanah Aminah Hospital.
In Penang, an 86-year-old woman
died while trying to protect her
daughter who had fallen prey to
snatch thieves outside their house
in Kampung Besar, Tasek Gelugur, on
Tuesday night.
The woman was trying to help
her 57-year-old daughter after two
men, posing as loan sharks, came
to their house and snatched a gold
chain worth about RM2,000 from the
daughter’s neck.
State CID chief SAC II Wan Abdul-
lah Tuanku Said said one of the men
punched the woman when she came
out to protect her daughter, causing
her to fall to the ground.