By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 —Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid was evasive about the recommendations made in its Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) report.
PAC recommended that former Transport Minister Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy and former Port Klang Authority (PKA) general manager Datin Paduka O.C. Phang be investigated for criminal breach of trust in the PKFZ scandal.
Azmi (picture) stressed that a thorough investigation must be conducted by Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the police before any conclusions can be made.
“Everything is in here but it is not only about Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy. There must be a thorough investigation by MACC and police. We don’t know about corruption because it has to be proven but there are a lot of wrongdoings here so which category of crime... we do not know. It is up to the authorities involved to determine,” he told a press conference in Parliament.
The report also recommended investigations into the role of other government officials serving in PKA when the project was being developed.
The PAC found both Chan and Phang to have breached the Financial Procedure Act 1957 by issuing three letters of support and three letters of undertaking without the approval of the Finance Ministry.
The PKA has already sued Phang on Oct 8 for breach of duties in connection with the scandal-plagued PKFZ project.
Azmi, however, did not want to confirm if any crime had been committed.
“Sometimes it is negligence and sometimes it is maybe not knowing it happened... so we don’t know which is which but something is wrong here so it is up to the police and MACC to determine and it has to proven before any action can be taken.
"We are fortunate that PKA has taken action through a task force so this is complementary to whatever they do. The government has taken actions through the various task forces and the government is serious,” he explained.
He said the government was forced to pay through the bonds, and action must be taken against the decision-makers.
The committee reported that the bonds were not issued through the proper channels and the funds allocated were not fully utilised for the project.
The report recommended that the Finance Ministry review the bonds so that they could be redeemed to avoid increasing the debt due to the high bond rate of 7.5 per cent imposed by PKFZ developer Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) compared to the normal four per cent issued by the government.
The report pointed out that the letter of undertaking issued by Phang went against the government decision which had decided that the PKFZ should be self financed by PKA when the project was approved.
PAC is concerned that the Auditor-General report was not taken seriously.
“PAC is concerned because there have been cases reported by the auditors and you see the same thing happening this year so the government is very serious in trying to see similar mistakes should not be re-occurring. I also feel that the people also do not want this matter to repeat itself. I feel the government must take a more effective approach so this matter won't happen again,” he said.
Azmi reiterated that the PAC does not have any executive powers but only space to analyse and discuss.
“Only the police and MACC can determine the mistake. We cannot determine it. We cannot determine if the mistakes were consciously or unconsciously committed but the documentation has to be analysed in detail,” he said.
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