KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 — The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) will summon the transport minister, his two predecessors and the attorney-general to testify over the PKFZ scandal, in an investigation which could have serious political consequences for MCA and the Barisan Nasional (BN) administration.
The parliamentary panel will also call Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) chief executive officer and Barisan Nasional Backbenchers chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing to answer questions on the Port Klang Free Zone fiasco.
All of them will be called in to testify in two weeks’ time.
The decision was made at today’s meeting which was meant to finalise the set of questions to be asked of those who will be summoned in two weeks’ time.
PAC chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid said although they will be called in to testify, this does not mean that they are guilty.
“They are not necessarily guilty, but we are calling them to be assured,” Azmi told The Malaysian Insider in Parliament today.
When asked how many individuals had been called to testify, he said he was not sure but “quite a number” which includes senior civil servants and former ministers.
The PAC is conducting an investigation into how PKFZ’s initial cost of nearly RM2 billion could rise to RM12.5 billion because of various discrepancies.
The scandal first surfaced in 2007, and disclosures so far show that the fiasco straddles the tenures as transport ministers of Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik.
It was also decided that the testimony of Datuk Gani Patail, the AG, would be relevant because he was privy to government information on the scandal.
Last week, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) head Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan had testified before the PAC.
But the head of the anti-graft agency refused to answer most questions thrown at him over its ongoing probe.
Ahmad Said stonewalled the bipartisan parliamentary committee by repeatedly citing legal provisions which he said prevented him from giving specific answers to questions from the lawmakers.
The Malaysian Insider understands that PAC members have yet to receive copies and appendices of the PriceWaterhouse Cooper report on PKFZ despite the exertion of pressure on Parliament’s secretariat and the transport minister to do so.
The DAP’s Lim Kit Siang, who has led a vocal campaign against Ong over the scandal, blasted the transport minister and accused the latter attempting to black out incriminating and significant information from reaching the public.
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Nanti Semua nya OK!