Tough action awaits Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd chief executive officer Tiong King Sing if he defies an order to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in relation to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) inquiry.

PAC member and DAP Petaling Jaya parliamentarian Tony Pua today warned the Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairperson that he could be punished if he failed to attend the inquiry, expected to be held sometime this month.

tiong king sing Chinese paper Sin Chew Daily yesterday reported that Tiong (right) , who is also Bintulu MP, won't attend the inquiry on legal grounds, and said that only his "lawyers could represent him."

Pua said: "If he does not turn up when we call for him, we will raise it at the next PAC meeting and ensure that he is punished."

In contempt of Parliament

Pua also said that the PAC will also refer Tiong to parliament's committee of privileges.

The comittee is oblidged to act against the the MP and mete out punishment recommended by the PAC.

new america one malaysia khairy jamaluddin tony puah forum 040609 06 However, Pua (left) said Tiong cannot be present at the committee of the privileges meeting as he is also the member of the committee.

"He can't take part (in the meeting) because he is a member...but now that is he reported to have said that he won't be attending the inquiry, he is clearly in contempt of parliament and we will make sure that he is punished".

Deputy Finance Minister Chor Chee Heung, former transport ministers Chan Kong Choy and Dr Ling Liong Sik were summoned by the PAC in relation to the PKFZ inquiry.

Politicians have to explain themselves

PAC chairperson Azmi Khalid, told reporters yesterday that these individuals would have to explain certain matters, in order to make clear how the project cost escalated from RM2 billion to RM12.5 billion.

azmi khalid Azmi (right) said the committee is probing into several aspects that may have been overlooked by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

"At the moment we are updating our report and we are calling a lot more people to give an explanation...but we in PAC have no powers to ransack for files, so this we leave to this to MACC," he had said.

An audit report released in May named three top politicians as being among those involved in the scandal, with two of them having a conflict of interest.