Ex-minister in financial scandal

ONE of Malaysia’s former transport ministers and a top port executive may have both committed fraud, contributing to a series of missteps that plunged a government-backed industrial project into a billion-dollar debt, a parliamentary watchdog said on Wednesday.

The findings of a high-profile investigation by Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee provides a major push for the government to act against key figures in one of the country’s biggest financial scandals, which had increased concerns of corruption and a lack of transparency in state-linked projects.

The government approved a loan in 2007 to rescue the country’s main port authority from debts exceeding US$1 billion (S$1.4 billion) after it incurred massive cost overruns to develop the Port Klang Free Zone, a 1,000-acre industrial and trading hub that opened in 2006.

The Public Accounts Committee, which oversees government expenditure, recommended on Wednesday that the police and the government’s anti-corruption agency investigate ex-Transport Minister Chan Kong Choy and former Port Klang Authority General Manager O.C. Phang for possible criminal breach of trust involving the scandal.

The committee said Mr Chan and Mr Phang issued key letters to carry out the project without the Finance Ministry’s approval. It also recommended investigations into other government officials involved in the project for allegedly failing to perform their responsibilities diligently.

Mr Chan, who retired after serving as transport minister between 2003 and 2008, and Mr Phang could not immediately be reached for comment. Mr Chan has previously denied any wrongdoing, while Mr Phang refused to publicly comment since being interviewed by the committee earlier this year. — AP