KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has accused political foe Lim Kit Siang of fishing for votes in today’s twin by-elections of Kerdau and Merlimau by raising the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

Two former MCA leaders, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik and Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, have been charged in court with cheating the Cabinet into approving deals that have turned the PKFZ into a costly venture, during their respective tenures as transport ministers.

Over 30 per cent of voters in the state constituencies of Merlimau, Malacca and Kerdau in Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s home state of Pahang, have already cast their ballot papers at 10am, after polling began at 8am today.

“Perhaps Kit Siang, in his desperate attempt to fish for votes in the by-elections, had to stoop so low by smearing the name of MCA,” Dr Chua said in a statement today.

The MCA president reminded Lim and the DAP that the charges against Dr Ling and Chan were brought forward by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which acts independently of any party, and said Lim’s aspersions were uncalled for.

The former health minister slammed the DAP man for harping on the cheating charges against Dr Ling and Chan as well as trying to drag MCA into the fray.

“By asking the MCA to state its stand on corruption charges against the leaders concerned is tantamount to interfering in the process of the judiciary system,” Dr Chua said.

However, he responded to Lim’s provocation and stressed that the MCA was fully against any act of corruption but believed that every man had the right to a fair trial.

“A person is innocent until proven guilty and by suggesting otherwise or compelling others to comment on the case, smacks clearly of an attempt to derail the process of an impartial trial,” he said.

“The DAP is not helping in the democratic process in the country [by casting] aspersions, and the mud-slinging tactic adopted by the opposition clearly is ultra vires of the process for a non-biased trial,” he added.

The PKFZ project was mooted during Dr Ling’s time as transport minister and the cost of the project, initially estimated at less than RM2 billion, more than doubled to RM4.6 billion by 2007.

The cost of the project has been further projected to swell to as much as RM12.5 billion due to interest from deferred payments if the trans-shipment hub fails to perform.

Dr Ling, who was MCA president between from 1986 to 2003, was charged with duping the Mahathir administration in 2002 into buying 999.5 acres of land on Pulau Indah for the PKFZ project at well over its market value.

The 67-year-old faces up to seven years behind bars if found guilty.

Pahang-born Chan, 54, was charged last week with three counts of cheating in relation to construction work for the PKFZ amounting to RM1.9 billion.

He faces up to five year’s jail on each count.

Both Dr Ling and Chan have pleaded not guilty and are out on million-ringgit bails.