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No reason
why Lee
would want to
see me: Dr M
KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime
minister Tun Dr Mahathir Moha-
mad said yesterday he did not
see any reason why Singapore’s
Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew
would want to see him.
Mahathir said this when asked
by reporters on the possibility of
him meeting Lee, who is in Malay-
sia on an eight-day visit, Bernama
reported.
“I don’t see why he would re-
quest to see me, I am a nobody,”
he said when pressed further on
what he would do if Lee requested
to see him.
Mahathir met reporters after
launching Sapura Crest Petroleum
Berhad’s new state-of-the-art
Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
called the Thypoon, which is ca-
pable of deepwater operations, at
the Oil and Gas Asia 2009 Exhibi-
tion at Kuala Lumpur Convention
Centre.
He was also asked to com-
ment on the meeting between
Lee and the opposition leaders,
and the advice he gave them.
“Lee Kuan Yew has much
experience. Our politicians know
nothing. That is why we have to
learn from Singapore. Singapore
is a great country, they invest so
much money,” he said.
On the third bridge issue,
Mahathir said: “If we give sand,
then we can get the bridge.”
Bernard Cheah reports from
George Town: Lee will be making
his first official visit to Penang
tomorrow, 20 years after his last
official visit.
In December 1989, Lee, who
was then the Singapore prime
minister, visited Penang Hill, Pen-
ang Butterfly Farm and the free
industrial zone in Bayan Baru.
He is scheduled to meet Chief
Minister Lim Guan Eng and his
state executive councillors, before
meeting with Gerakan president
and Minister in the Prime Minis-
ter’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh
Tsu Koon in the afternoon.
Lee will be in Perak today and
is scheduled to go to Kota Baru
after his Penang visit.
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Singapore keen on
third bridge, says Najib
by Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PUTRAJAYA: Singapore is interested
in the construction of a third bridge
linking the republic and Malaysia,
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak said yesterday.
He said Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department Tan Sri Nor
Yakcop has been tasked to discuss
it with his Singapore counterpart
and appoint a consultant to conduct
a feasibility study, including its cost
implications.
“When I discussed it with Singa-
pore’s Minister Mentor Lee Kuan
Yew, he showed interest to work with
Malaysia in building this bridge as it
could be a means to develop Johor
from Desaru to Mersing, Rompin,
Kuantan and up to Terengganu,”
Najib told reporters after the 2010
budget consultation meeting at the
Treasury here.
“It would also be related to the
Iskandar Malaysia development. So,
if we could implement many more
initiatives together with Singapore,
the Iskandar area could be devel-
oped.”
Asked when construction would
start, he said it has yet to be decided,
pending the outcome of the study.
PAC to call MACC officials on PKFZ
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) will summon officials
from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com-
mission (MACC) to attend its meeting next
Wednesday to brief it on the progress of
the MACC’s investigation following the
release of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ)
audit report.
The PAC also hopes to provide the
O
For non-Muslims only
On financing of the bridge con-
struction, he said it will be shared on
an equal basis between Malaysia and
Singapore.
Earlier, in his opening address,
Najib said the government will pur-
sue the concept of the third bridge on
the eastern side of Johor.
“Singapore did say it (the area
to be affected by the bridge) has the
potential to be another Nusa Jaya like
in Bali,” he said.
To a question on the meeting
between Lee and all the three Umno
vice-presidents as well as the PAS
president and deputy president, Na-
jib, who is also the Umno president,
said he does not have any problems
with it.
“He is free to meet anyone to get
the actual picture because, to him,
Malaysia’s stability is related to Sin-
gapore’s stability and our success,
too, will have an impact on Singa-
pore,” he said.
On US President Barack Obama’s
speech in Cairo last week, Najib said
it signalled the US government’s
new aspiration to mend the rift
between the Muslim countries and
the West.
“It is a very good speech and
Malaysia would like to congratulate
Obama on that. What is important
MACC with some suggestions on areas to
look into by the MACC.
After chairing the second day’s brief-
ing on the PKFZ episode called by the
PAC, committee chairman Datuk Seri
Azmi Khalid said the PAC was disap-
pointed that weaknesses that occurred
and resulted in huge losses, as reported
in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
report.
“This happened because of lenient
administration by the Port Klang Authority
Azmi speaks
to reporters
after
yesterday’s
briefing on
PKFZ. Beside
him is PAC
deputy
chairman
Dr Tan Seng
Giaw.
Hadi
spells out
terms
for ‘unity
talks’
pg 4
and a bigger challenge is how
to realise the speech with con-
crete and effective actions,”
he said.
“Malaysia is prepared
to be one of the countries
which could cooperate with
the US, more so because in
his speech he has praised
Malaysia as one of the
progressive and developed
Muslim countries.”
In his speech, Obama talked
about a new beginning of relation-
ship between the US and the Muslim
world, based on respect and truth,
and praised Islam’s contribution
towards the renaissance process in
Europe.
Asked about a survey posted on
the blog of Transport Minister Datuk
Seri Ong Tee Keat, who is also the
MCA president, on whether MCA
should leave Barisan Nasional (BN),
Najib said he viewed it only as an
academic exercise.
“As far as I’m concerned, MCA
has no intention of leaving BN.
It may be an academic exercise.
But the political position of MCA
has always been, and will continue
to be, a senior member of BN,” he
said.
According to the opinion poll,
(PKA) and decisions made without the
knowledge of the (PKA) board, and
(despite) admonitions given to the
government officers in the Finance
Ministry and Economic Planning Unit,
who sit on the board,” he told report-
ers.
“The government has also taken
action, including the appointment of
certain bodies (a special task force
and two committees) to help salvage
the situation, as well as handing over
the matter to the MACC, so PAC will
meet up with the commission to get
feedback, discuss the next course of
action and also provide some views
to the commission as we want a
comprehensive investigation to be
conducted and stern action taken by
MACC.”
Azmi said the PAC was of the
view that a thorough investigation is
imperative because the report had
mentioned that all weaknesses were
the result of genuine oversight by the
parties involved.
“We want the MACC to determine
whether it is a genuine oversight, or
the parties involved had provided mis-
represented information to the board
as well as their intentions, and the
government must act transparently
in this matter,” he said.
| FRIDAY JUNE 12 2009
conducted since August last year,
1,910 (75.6%) of the 2,525 online
voters wanted MCA to leave BN, as
at yesterday.
On the size of Budget 2010, Najib,
who is also the finance minister,
said the government is looking at its
revenue forecast and expenditure.
“We need to fine-tune that. I
would not want to commit to the
figure at this stage as I want to be
as precise as possible,” he said,
when asked if the size of the budget
would be RM200 billion as indicated
earlier.
He also said the government is
hopeful the economy will be back
on track with reasonable growth
next year.
» See also Page 16
He said a report will be prepared
by the PAC next week for the parlia-
ment.
Asked if the PAC will join the
MACC in the investigation, Azmi said
the committee has no power to press
charges but it will propose to MACC to
also get information from the PKFZ’s
former operator from Dubai to facili-
tate the investigation.
On whether the PAC was satisfied
after the briefing by the PKA and
PwC, he said the new PKA officers,
including its chairman Datuk Lee Hwa
Beng, had done their best to explain
to the committee “but there is need
for a more in-depth investigation than
the PwC report”.
Asked if former transport ministers
Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan
Kong Choy, and former PKA chairman
Datuk Chor Chee Heung would also
be summoned by the PAC for the
hearing, Azmi said although there was
a suggestion to summon them, the
committee felt it was not appropriate
and the option should be left to the
MACC.
Lee described the meeting with
the PAC as “a tough session” and said
he was “grilled” for five hours.
He declined to disclose the details
of the meeting.