Thesun 2009-05-07 Page01 Act Fast On Pkfz Fiasco

Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)

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

Thursday May 7, 2009

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Act fast on PKFZ fiasco by Tim Leonard [email protected]

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 Commission (MACC). theSun’s report said the audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) had detailed a series of conflict of interest situations. Among them: » Sementa assemblyman Datuk Abdul 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,

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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 shareholders 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, involvement of politicians, the inflated prices of the transactions, and questionable transactions. He said it indicated a malaise of mixing politics with the proper administration of government assets. “It is therefore appropriate for the (Datuk Seri) Najib Abdul Razak administration 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 maladministration 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 involved, 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 happened. 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 movement 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

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tion and haul in those responsible for the ballooning of the project cost, as well as other irregularities behind the project. “Those who profitted from the deal, either politicians or businessmen, must be brought to face the law.” » PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng said the audit finding will be made public soon but did not give a specific date. In a statement, he said following the instructions of Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to release the position review of PKFZ within seven days, he had written to PricewaterhouseCoopers on April 30 to seek consent to publicly release

the report. On Monday, PwC agreed to give consent, subject to certain terms and conditions. Lee said he is calling for an emergency board meeting to seek the board members’ approval on the terms and conditions for the release of the report. He said he had informed Ong of this matter. “I have also given my assurance that the matter would be sorted out as soon as possible,” he said. » Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, who is the majority shareholder of KDSB and a director of WGSB, declined to comment, saying he had instructed 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 incident in four days. Saripah Mohd Noor, 33, was returning 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 children 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 Abdullah 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.