MCA deputy education minister Wee Ka Siong took the battle to his political rivals over allegations about his involvement in the controversial Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ) scandal and accused them of character assassination.

wee ka siong pc at moe putrajaya 241209 Disclosing his side of the story, Wee ( left ) told Malaysiakini over a telephone interview yesterday that Hijau Sekitar was never in the limelight despite the company's past impressive record until the recent tarring of its image by certain political quarters within the MCA.

Without naming any of his political rivals he believed were responsible for spreading the rumors in cyberspace, Wee disclosed that certain quarters had deliberately circulated a letter linking Hijau Sekitar to the billion ringgit PKFZ scandal.

Those who had been associated with the company said Wee was the brains behind the founding of the company when he was an ambitious 24-year-old civil engineer in 1992 and Hijau Sekitar Sdn Bhd almost overnight found itself in the spotlight.

Wee in elaborating on the role of Hijau Sekitar said, "The company had performed very well particularly in the transportation planning and environmental consultancy works including land reclamation projects or the maritime sector for almost two decades."

Wee, who is also the MCA Youth chief, was clearly upset over the latest allegations against him and the company, describing the allegations as defamatory and baseless.

S o many projects why the focus on one?

He pointed out that as demanded by the code of ethics for ministers and their deputies, he had resigned as a director of Hija Sekitar and disposed off a major portion of his shares upon appointment to his current position in 2008.

He also said that it was unfair to tarnish the name and credibility of the company which he had founded in 1992.

" wetland johor tanjung pelepas 060505 port The company's portfolio includes Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for sand mining at Teluk Ramunia Off South China Sea, wharf extension for Johor Port, Seaport project at Tanjung Pelepas Port ( right )...," Wee added.

He had on Thursday at a press conference in Putrajaya challenged those out to defame him to come in the open.

Defending the integrity of the company, Wee asked, "My former firm (Hijau Sekitar) had done hundreds of projects of various sizes in the country, why single out the one in Port Klang which has nothing to do with PKFZ?"

He was referring to the conceptual study on Port Klang which Hijau Sekitar together with four other firms had undertaken in 2005.

Wee added that at that time, Wijaya Baru Sdn Bhd had appointed Hijau Sekitar, G&P Professionals Sdn Bhd, HR Wallingford, OSC (Ocean Shipping Consultants) and Aspec (Asia-Pacific Environmental Consultants) Sdn Bhd to conduct the study and the report was submitted to the Transport Ministry for its green light to carry out a detailed EIA.

The parent company of Wijaya Baru is Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the main contractor of PKFZ.

"Wijaya Baru has so many projects, including healthcare, in the country. Are these people saying all (Wijaya Baru's projects) have something to do with PKFZ?" Wee asked his detractors.

Legal action in the offing

According to him, the company is also a registered environmental impact assessment consultant.

Earlier this week, a Pahang state leader Ti Lian Ker, a strong supporter of MCA president Ong Tee Keat, had claimed that an up-and-coming politician in his party was involved in the PKFZ scandal.

Ti's blog posting on Wednesday referred to a letter circulated in the Internet alleging a deputy minister of having shares in a company.

It was also alleged that the company had conducted consultancy works for Wijaya Baru on the feasibility of a new port facility on reclaimed land at the mouth of Selat Lumut in Port Klang in 2006.

Wee also dismissed as rubbish a report in an English daily which quoted Ti Lian Ker's statement and described it as an attempt to link him with the PKFZ controversy.

port klang 260209 01 "Such baseless attempts to link me with the PKFZ is mere rubbish and a hideous move to assassinate me politically," he added.

"I have nothing to do with PKFZ or KDSB for that matter and I shall leave it to my lawyers to take the necessary action against who are desperately attempting to defame me and the company which I had left a long time ago," Wee said in reply to a question on his next move.

Shelved project too dragged in

"Those defaming me probably did not know that the project proposal forwarded to the Transport Ministry at that time was actually shelved.

"The project study entitled, ‘Conceptual design and Feasibility Study on the need for port development in the Port Klang area, which was proposed by Hijau Sekitar and four other international and local firms was shelved.

"It was a study of a 30-year projection on Port Klang, though 'kept in view' by the Transport Ministry was shelved because the ministry felt it was not the right time then for such a complete study to be carried out," Wee said.

ong tee keat pkfz klang visit 060508 11 How could it be that Hijau Sekitar is now accused of being involved in the controversy?" Wee asked.

"Those trying to defame the company and me should also show the record performance of the company in the last 17 years for a clearer picture.

"My role in the project (which was shelved), was only one of coordination and providing preliminary inputs to the study proposal. I hold a Master in Traffic Engineering from Nanyang Technology University (Singapore) and a doctorate in Transportation Planning (UTM)."

Ti and Wee are in rival camps with the former backing the party president and the latter supporting the third factional camp aligned to Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai.

A member of parliament for Ayer Hitam, Wee joined MCA in 1992 and was elected MCA Youth chief at the Oct 18, 2008 MCA party elections.