Margaret Justice
1. MCA in shock over Dr Ling’s PKFZ charge By Clara ChooiJuly 29, 2010KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 – Today’s prosecution of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik over his role in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, has sent shockwaves through the MCA, leaving party leaders stuttering in response.
2. MCA’s usually calm and collected president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek himself appeared shaken by the news and admitted that it was unexpected.
3. “MCA leaders are shocked by this,” he told reporters who surrounded him for a response after he opened the Perak MCA Youth convention at the state liaison body’s headquarters in Ipoh.
4. He added, however, that he was confident that Dr Ling, 66, who had served as the party’s president from 1986 to 2003, would be given a fair trial.
5. When contacted later in the evening, MCA secretary-general and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha fell silent for several moments when informed of the news.
6. When asked if he was surprised, Kong said: “Of course I am. Why do you only call me when there is bad news?”
7. He added that he was “concerned” about Dr Ling’s prosecution, especially since the latter was a prominent figure in the MCA.
8. Dr Ling was slapped with charges under Section 418 and alternatively, under Section 417 of the Penal Code, for an offence concerning land valuation.
9. Section 418 concerns “cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may be thereby caused to a person whose interest the offender is bound to protect” and Section 417 concerns the punishment for cheating.
10. If convicted under Section 418, Dr Ling faces a maximum jail term of seven years, or a fine, or both, and if convicted under Section 417, he faces a lesser sentence of five years jail, or fine or both.
11. He claimed trial to the charges and the case has been fixed for mention on September 3.
12. Dr Ling, believed to be the first Tun in the country to face such prosecution, is the most influential personality to date to be brought to book over the controversial PKFZ scandal.
13. When contacted, many MCA leaders chose to keep mum over the issue, pleading for more time to study the charges before issuing any comment.
14. MCA vice-president Datuk Donald Lim told The Malaysian Insider that the matter should only be addressed by the president.
15. “I would rather not comment. I just heard about it too,” he said.
16. A fellow vice-president Gan Ping Sieu also declined comment but chose instead to seek information from The Malaysian Insider over the details of the charges against Dr Ling.
17. “What did they involve? What were the specific charges,” he asked, before saying that he would need more time before speaking on it.
18. Another vice-president Datuk Chor Chee Heung told The Malaysian Insider that careless comments on such a shocking piece of news should not be made.
19. “I barely just heard about it myself. I do not know the details, so it would be unfair to make any comment for now. It is a big issue,” he pointed out.
20. Other MCA leaders could not be reached via the telephone.
21. On micro-blogging site Twitter, MCA Youth chief Datuk Wee Ka Siong, who is usually active, was uncharacteristically quiet. His last post was at about 4pm, on an unrelated matter.
23. MCA presidential council member Chua Tee Yong tweeted that the PKFZ case needed transparency if the government wanted to revive the people’s trust in them.
24. “Give a chance 2 clear d air instd of guessg and hypthosg,” he said in his tweet.
25. The PKFZ project, Malaysia’s biggest port investment, was initially kickstarted in the early 2000 with a budget of RM1.8 billion.
26. The amount ballooned, however, allegedly due to mismanagement and corruption, and is estimated to likely cost a whopping RM12.5 billion now, including interest charges.
Margaret Justice
Submitted by webmaster on Fri, 2010-07-30 07:43
I laud the decision of the Board of Port Klang Authority to hold back its final payment (see here:http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/highlights/170666-pka-wont-pay.html) of RM222.584 million to Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd. (KDSB)’s special-purpose vehicle (SPV), Free Zone Capital (Bhd). The payment is stipulated under the New Additional Development Work (NADW) agreement signed between KDSB and the Port Klang Authority (PKA). A total of RM522.584 million is due under NADW, of which RM300 had already been paid in 2008 and 2009.
The final payment under NADW due on 31st July 2010 mentioned above should be withheld to avoid crossing the threshold of what KDSB is legally entitled to. I have mentioned in my earlier blog (see here:http://www.ongteekeat.net/pkfz/pkfz-making-the-right-but-tough-decisions) that it goes against sound reasoning to make full and final payment when there is clear dispute amounting to at least RM83 million for fraudulent claims, such as the supply of 33kv to Precinct 2 and Precinct 8, which has yet to commence from Notice of Payment No.1 until the last Notice of Payment No. 24.
The PKA Board has avoided the risk of a ‘hollow victory’, when monies paid cannot be physically recovered subsequently when the courts rule in its favour.
The Board of PKA has yesterday, demonstrated its integrity by making the correct but difficult decision, in putting the interest of the Government and taxpayers first, as against political interference. The move to ensure that 1/3 of Board members being comprised of independent directors not aligned to any political master, which was initiated during my tenure as Minister of Transport, has begun to bear fruit.
My hopes turn to despair when I read here (http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=49932) that the current Transport Minister may exercise his ministerial prerogative to override PKA’s decision. Whilst I recognise that this is a privilege of the Minister, the exercise of this right must be tempered with sound reasoning and more importantly, considered with the people’s interest at hand.
The justification behind the decision to “pay according to what has been decided much earlier, according to the schedule that was set a long time ago” is a sweeping one and indeed foolhardy. It must be read in the light of the following:
a) The existence of new facts – the ‘missing link’ in the PriceWaterhourseCoopers Advisory Services (PwCAS) report, of letters revealing that KDSB had given undertakings or guarantees that it will cover any shortfall in repayments towards the bonds should PKA fail to do so.
b) The above supports the contention that the “Letters of Support” provided by my predecessors at the Ministry of Transport are not guarantees, and effectively releases the pressure from the Government to pay the bonds. In other words, the Government is under no direct legal obligation to pay the bondholders. This is supported by Parliamentary Hansard that recorded a Deputy Minister of Finance stating the same. The letters also do not comply with Section 14 of the Financial Procedures Act 1957 to be effective Government guarantees.
c) The fear of negative repercussions to our sovereign rating is unfounded. The reported default of RM240 million bond by Malaysian International Tuna Port Sdn. Bhd. (MITP), a similar case on hand did not create much of a ripple in the market, as was last year’s one-week default in payment with regards PKFZ.
d) The bondholders are not privy to the principal agreements signed between PKA and KDSB. The SPVs’ right to payment are merely secured under the assignment, which is subject to what is lawfully due to KDSB under the principal agreements. It makes absolute sense to withhold payments to the SPVs pending determination of what is lawfully due to KDSB by the courts.
I hope that the current Minister and PKA have enough gumption to carry out the pledge to continue with the PKFZ probe (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/nation/6417615&sec=nation).
There is at least RM1.4 billion in disputed claims for all principal agreements between KDSB and PKA, including the Land Agreement (LA), Development Agreements (DA) and Additional Development Agreements (ADW), of which more than RM2 billion is payable under as scheduled until 2017. Sweeping the issue dirt the carpet this year will not make the problem go away.
The final payment under NADW due on 31st July 2010 mentioned above should be withheld to avoid crossing the threshold of what KDSB is legally entitled to. I have mentioned in my earlier blog (see here:http://www.ongteekeat.net/pkfz/pkfz-making-the-right-but-tough-decisions) that it goes against sound reasoning to make full and final payment when there is clear dispute amounting to at least RM83 million for fraudulent claims, such as the supply of 33kv to Precinct 2 and Precinct 8, which has yet to commence from Notice of Payment No.1 until the last Notice of Payment No. 24.
The PKA Board has avoided the risk of a ‘hollow victory’, when monies paid cannot be physically recovered subsequently when the courts rule in its favour.
The Board of PKA has yesterday, demonstrated its integrity by making the correct but difficult decision, in putting the interest of the Government and taxpayers first, as against political interference. The move to ensure that 1/3 of Board members being comprised of independent directors not aligned to any political master, which was initiated during my tenure as Minister of Transport, has begun to bear fruit.
My hopes turn to despair when I read here (http://www.sun2surf.com/article.cfm?id=49932) that the current Transport Minister may exercise his ministerial prerogative to override PKA’s decision. Whilst I recognise that this is a privilege of the Minister, the exercise of this right must be tempered with sound reasoning and more importantly, considered with the people’s interest at hand.
The justification behind the decision to “pay according to what has been decided much earlier, according to the schedule that was set a long time ago” is a sweeping one and indeed foolhardy. It must be read in the light of the following:
a) The existence of new facts – the ‘missing link’ in the PriceWaterhourseCoopers Advisory Services (PwCAS) report, of letters revealing that KDSB had given undertakings or guarantees that it will cover any shortfall in repayments towards the bonds should PKA fail to do so.
b) The above supports the contention that the “Letters of Support” provided by my predecessors at the Ministry of Transport are not guarantees, and effectively releases the pressure from the Government to pay the bonds. In other words, the Government is under no direct legal obligation to pay the bondholders. This is supported by Parliamentary Hansard that recorded a Deputy Minister of Finance stating the same. The letters also do not comply with Section 14 of the Financial Procedures Act 1957 to be effective Government guarantees.
c) The fear of negative repercussions to our sovereign rating is unfounded. The reported default of RM240 million bond by Malaysian International Tuna Port Sdn. Bhd. (MITP), a similar case on hand did not create much of a ripple in the market, as was last year’s one-week default in payment with regards PKFZ.
d) The bondholders are not privy to the principal agreements signed between PKA and KDSB. The SPVs’ right to payment are merely secured under the assignment, which is subject to what is lawfully due to KDSB under the principal agreements. It makes absolute sense to withhold payments to the SPVs pending determination of what is lawfully due to KDSB by the courts.
I hope that the current Minister and PKA have enough gumption to carry out the pledge to continue with the PKFZ probe (http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2010/6/8/nation/6417615&sec=nation).
There is at least RM1.4 billion in disputed claims for all principal agreements between KDSB and PKA, including the Land Agreement (LA), Development Agreements (DA) and Additional Development Agreements (ADW), of which more than RM2 billion is payable under as scheduled until 2017. Sweeping the issue dirt the carpet this year will not make the problem go away.
TAKEN FFOM www.ongteekeat.net
