Former transport minister Ong Tee Keat has claimed that all the corporate practices that he implemented in Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) to ensure good governance and transparency had been dismantled after his services were discontinued.

NONE These practices include the introduction of a whistleblower policy to arrest malpractices; instilling transparency in reporting the PKFZ figures on occupancy rate and rental revenues; the appointment of independent directors who constitute one-third of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) board; and the signing of an integrity pact.

“(These practices) were all dismantled overnight following the change of guard in the Transport Ministry and PKA,”he said at a book launch this morning in Petaling Jaya.

The book entitled ‘PKFZ: A Nation’s Trust Betrayed’ is co-authored by former journalist Lee Siew Lian and Lee Hwa Beng, who served as PKA chairperson during Ong’s tenure and had worked closely with Ong to investigate the scandal as well as implement reform initiatives in PKA.

azlan Ong, who is also former MCA president, expressed his dissatisfaction with the current administration for not maintaining his commitment to unearth the truth behind the multi-billion ringgit PKFZ scandal after he was dropped from the cabinet.

He pointed out that the latest withdrawal of the complaint against Rashid Asari & Co and the ministry’s silence over this development is further proof of this.

The law firm was accused of conflict of interest in a PKA-commissioned audit by PriceWaterhouse-Coopers (PWC) on PKFZ in 2008, when Ong was the transport minister.

The audit report states that Rashid Asari & Co had represented both the seller, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), and the buyer, PKA, in a land deal for the PKFZ site.

Ong reiterated that the scandal is far from over as he has been informed by investigators and prosecutors that their probe is still in progress. This is based on the seven volumes of documents prepared by an ad-hoc committee he had set up.

The PKFZ independent committee was assigned to investigate alleged wrongdoings or 20 anomalies identified by the PWC audit report, and its confidential findings were handed over to investigators in August 2009.

“But after three years I’m still waiting... we want to know the answers. The answers lie with the investigators and prosecutors," Ong said.

“I’m getting less patient when every time I enquire about the case, I am told that the investigation is still in progress."

'Suspend bond payments'

He was also adamant on his and Lee’s stance that the government should suspend bond payments to KDSB, the turnkey contractor of PKFZ, before the court makes a ruling on the disputed amount.

azlan “The government should only pay the quantum the court rules as rightfully due once the civil cases have been successfully disposed of. More so, to my understanding, the bond has never been guaranteed by the government.

“In this respect, we were guided by our conscience and consciousness of being the custodian of public funds, albeit we were overruled by our political bosses."

The PKA has filed several civil cases against KDSB for over-claiming RM1.4 billion and non-completion of work, but the government has insisted that PKA must honour its payment to KDSB on the grounds that the government has given its assurance.

KDSB is owned by Bintulu MP and BN Backbenchers Clubl chairperson Tiong King Sing.

Ong revealed that a whopping RM3.039 billion is estimated to have been paid to KDSB to date, and another RM733.37 million will be due on June 20 this year.

“Common sense will tell you that if you think someone has overcharged for something he has sold you, or for a service rendered, you would immediately stop payment until the dispute is settled.

“It does not make any sense at all for you to continue paying the vendor, since the court or the arbiter may argue that ‘the fact that you paid him after you discovered the alleged fraud shows that you consented to it’."

It has been three years since the investigation of the scandal started - yet, not only are the crooks and culprits still off the hook, the taxpayers' money has yet to be recovered, Ong added.