Tee Keat braces for his Waterloo

Ong is now fighting for his presidency following the sacking of deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. He also faces law suits from PKFZ’s turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and its CEO, Bintulu MP and Barisan Nasional (BN) Backbenchers chief Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

by R. Nadeswaran and Terence Fernandez, The Sun Daily 

Factors from within and outside the government and MCA have been throwing a spanner in the works to derail the probe on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) fiasco.

Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat

As the cabinet tomorrow receives the report of the task force investigating the scandal, Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said certain individuals and groups had been trying their best to prevent the release of the various reports which may implicate senior government servants and politicians.

In an interview with theSun at his office here on Monday, the MCA president admitted that his pushing of the issue has made him unpopular with certain factions, where PKFZ could be his Waterloo.

Ong is now fighting for his presidency following the sacking of deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek. He also faces law suits from PKFZ’s turnkey contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and its CEO, Bintulu MP and Barisan Nasional (BN) Backbenchers chief Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing.

Ong in turn has filed a RM500 million suit against Tiong for alleging that he had taken RM10 million from Tiong.

Ong has accused Chua and Tiong as among those working against his efforts to get to the bottom of the scandal, saying the former had even said that making the PKFZ report public would spell trouble for MCA and the BN.

Both Chua and Tiong have denied these accusations.

However, Ong said how he and the BN government handles the issue will have a bearing on public trust.

“Detractors say I want to play hero. I have everything to lose if this issue is mishandled. It is a ticking time bomb. If I do it wrongly, I’ll be blown up!”

He also said the rules of political appointment in government corporations must change, where those sitting on the Board of Directors must have certain aptitudes and skills.

“We must get people who at least know something about the subject matter. You might be a political appointee, but at least be well-versed with the subject matter,” he said.

Ong admitted that this proposal was not going to earn him many friends but stressed that this must be done if one is to learn any lessons from the RM12.5 billion fiasco, illustrating that the management of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) had operated with impunity probably because the Board of Directors was not savvy enough to comprehend the intricacies of port management.

“PKFZ should be made a turning point if we really want to bring in a new breed of political culture of accountability and transparency.

“We don’t just talk, we must walk the talk,” he said, adding that this is the acid test to the government’s commitment to accountability and transparency.

He added that the PKFZ probe must be a template for future investigations into the abuse of public funds.

Ong is on a road show to meet members to explain PKFZ and counter the allegations made against him by his former deputy.

He also said he will not engage Chua in a public debate as suggested by certain quarters of the MCA leadership.

Ong also had this to say of certain individuals whom he had entrusted to help clean up PKFZ: “We cannot stop any individual from being influenced by the various temptations out there”.