Tee Keat: I’m under siege
"The steps they take include threats on my personal safety as well as applying internal pressure in an attempt to stop me from disclosing the content of the report."
(By HWN YAUL LEN/Translated by DOMINIC LOH/Sin Chew Daily)
KUALA LUMPUR: Transport minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said there were some forces collaborating in an attempt to stop him from disclosing PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit report on the PKFZ.
He said the forces included the persons involved in the incident themselves, politico-business forces with connection to the persons directly involved in the incident, as well as certain quarters within the ruling coalition.
"The steps they take include threats on my personal safety as well as applying internal pressure in an attempt to stop me from disclosing the content of the report."
During an exclusive interview with Sin Chew Daily, Ong Tee Keat talked of the incidents he had gone through during the process of handling the PKFZ case after taking over the transport portolio last year.
Under threat
He said there were a few forces which collaborated to put him "under siege". These forces include politico-business forces trying to block him before the report was made public, as well as rumours against him from Chinese-based opposition parties after the report was made public.
He even said someone had delivered him a message through some "secret society brothers" saying, "If you're wiped out from this world some day, you should know why this has happened!"
He emphasised that his motive of insisting to commission PWC to investigate the PKFZ case was very simple, as the project had involved a very huge sum of money and he did not want "our children to inherit the massive debt."
He admitted that the PKFZ case was the poison that had killed BN and MCA during the last general elections. He said since he could not delete the incident from the memories of the public simply by evading the issue, why not conduct a thorough investigation and return the truth to the public?
He said the PKFZ incident had instigated the political nerve of MCA, paving the way for politico-business interests to infiltrate into the party, even to vow to stumble him by all means.
He lamented that these forces were trying to protrude a type of moral value: Those investigating the scandal are far more despicable than those directly involved in it; and creating a peaceful and harmonious illusion is way more important than madly pursuing the truth.
He also pointed out that someone had disseminated the message that what he was doing was on his own accord and had not been endorsed by either BN or the Cabinet, and therefore was incompatible with the BN government.
"All the things I have done so far have been carried out according to the procedures. I'm doing all these not to please anyone, or to bank on any external force to consolidate my leadership.
"I only believe that the truth must be disclosed and the solution sought before we can take away the gloom over PKFZ."
Can leave anytime
He also said if what he had done was wrong, had plunged the country in a state of distress, or had put the ruling coalition to shame, he was ready to call it a day if the government could get someone more capable to take over.
"If what I'm doing is contrary to the political culture of BN or MCA, I can go anytime."
"Some of the things are not convenient to be told at this moment!"
Ong Tee Keat took over the transport ministry, as well as the tacky issue of the PKFZ scandal, in the Cabinet reshuffle pursuant to the general elections last year.
The PKFZ issue used to be brought up in the Parliament a number of times, and the persons concerned had also offered some kind of reply. The file was supposed to be "closed."
Nevertheless, Tee Keat insisted to commission an independent audit company to re-examine the case.
Why must he investigate the PKFZ incident? Why must he incur more trouble for the BN government? What are his motives behind all this? Is he trying to play the hero? Or is he targeting someone in doing so?
These are just some of the things people are keen to find out.
By accident Tee Keat came across a phrase in a TV program: "leaving the debt to the descendants."
These few words stimulated his nerves and triggered him, who was himself doubtful about the PKFZ project, to launch a comprehensive investigation.
It took him some time before obtaining the permission from the finance ministry to hire an independent international audit company PricewaterhouseCoopers to conduct a thorough probe on the project.
He also said the audit report would definitely be made public.
However, he incurred public wrath for delaying the disclosure of the audit report after it was completed. And that also made him the target of the opposition's assault.
Meanwhile, there were a few sayings ciruclating around, including his intention of masking the truth by criticising the government, or tampering with the content resulting in the delay of the announcement.
He told Sin Chew Daily that he wouldn't bother about how other people were seeing him. He even disclosed some of the things which have so far been hidden from public knowledge.
As for some of the questions, he said it was not yet convenient to disclose the truth, but said, "Some of these things I'm not going to bring to my grave! No, this is not me!"
Never raised a loan
Q: What has made you investigate the PKFZ case?
A: I took over the transport portfolio after the general elections last March. Prior to that, I'd heard of PKFZ, but never been there.
I went there for the first time early last May, and it was soon followed by a parliamentary inquiry. At that time, I could only refer to whatever information I had in hand, and I needed to digest all this information first.
The port authorities finalised the decisions on 10th of May on all the development works, size, scope and cost evaluation of the entire project. Actually they had made the preliminary decisions in February, but because of the elections and dissolution of the Parliament, the final decision was hammered out only in May.
Accoding to the government proceedings, statutory institutions must not submit the reports directly to the finance minister or PM, but have to do so through their respective ministers.
Under such circumstances, since the port authorities had already finalised the decisions, and the government-appointed surveyors had also formally verified and prepared the budget, all I had to do was to submit the original document to the then prime minister cum finance minister Tun Abdullah.
At the same time, since the amount involved was too big, some RM1.2 billion, I became interested. So I started tracing the case and focusing my attention on the project.
The port authorities were to borrow from the government a massive sum of money to be repaid over 20 years. My first impression was that we must have the ability to repay the sum. The PKFZ must make money and have sufficient profits. Otherwise, the debts would be inherited by our children!
As a matter of fact, some preliminary decisions have been made as early as 2004, but the entire project was only finalised in 2008.
When I took over as the transport minister last year, I just submitted the document to the prime minister, while the loan had been approved by the finance ministry in 2007.
I've not borrowed a single cent myself!
And because of this, I felt there was a need to conduct an independent probe, not internal audit.
I only could make the port authorities commission PWC to launch the probe in October.
Q: Why did it take you so long, from May to October, to decide to let PWC do the audit?
A: That's because we needed to get the permission from the finance ministry.
As an international audit company, PWC would only do things according to the customary regulations which were finalised between themselves and the port authorities. The transport ministry did not have a hand in this matter. … more to follow
