MCA president Ong Tee Keat today apologised for the third time to his party today over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco, saying he had not expected that investigating the matter would have led to a crisis.

"“If it was I who faced the blows, that is fine, but if this had caused certain quarters to drag the party into the issue, I never expected it to happen, and if this is the cause, I would like to express my deepest apology," he said in his address to MCA’s 65th Annual General Meeting

Speaking at a press conference later, however, Ong said that he was unsure if PKFZ was the cause of the party’s misfortunes at the previous general elections, but the time-line of events make that a possibility.

“There is no direct link (between the PKFZ fiasco and MCA’s electoral performance). I did not conduct a specific investigation (into the matter),” Ong said.

Ong said further that he was caught in a ‘catch 22' situation when the PKFZ scandal came to light.

“The PKFZ was a hot issue that had contributed to MCA’s defeat in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur. But If I did not addressed the matter, then come the 13th general election, the impact would be worst,” he said.

When asked if his party rivals had a hand in the PKFZ scandal, Ong said that he was not pointing to any single person or spreading conspiracy theories, but merely addressing the questions raised by party members.

The party’s AGM which proceeded despite a boycott Ong’s rivals saw delegates debating on several issues, ranging from the ‘Allah’ issue to the 1Malaysia concept of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.