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Liong Sik must explain Transmile fraud
Published:  Jun 2, 2007 5:22 PM
Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM

Former cabinet minister Dr Ling Liong Sik should explain the Transmile accounting fraud, involving overstating profits up to RM530 million, said Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang.

Ling, formerly MCA president, is chairperson of Transmile Corporation, a global aviation group, that has come under fire for overstating its profits.

A recent special audit carried out by Moores Rowland Risk Management Sdn. Bhd, showed that Transmile made pre-tax losses of RM126 million and RM77 million for 2006 and 2005, respectively, instead of pre-tax profits of RM207 million and RM120 million as originally reported a total of RM530 million in overstatement.

"Liong Sik should explain how he is going to assume responsibility for the Enron-type ... fraud in Transmile," said Kit Siang in a statement today.

Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd has warned that its earnings for the financial year ended Dec 31 may be affected by the reported overstatement of Transmile's sales revenue as the postal group owns 15.3% of Transmile.

"I am surprised that Pos Malaysia & Services Holdings Bhd has not admitted that its earnings for the financial year 2005 could also be affected," said Lim.

Pos Malaysia reported a net profit of RM160.2 million for 2006 and RM145.3million for 2005.

Lim said that as a former senior cabinet minister Liong was transport minister Malaysians expect Liong Sik to be "a model of a responsible corporate player."

He said Liong Sik should be "more forthcoming" and "make a clean breast" of his responsibilities and remunerations including waht he had drawn from Transmile in his capacity as chairperson.

Raise in Parliament

"Dr Ling Liong Sik was quite active in the past month ... [he was at] Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (Utar) campus in Kampar yesterday planting a Blue Pine tree," said Lim.

"But he has been very reticent on what has been described as the biggest accounting and corporate scandal in recent times in Malaysia, even likened to the accounting fiasco of Enron and Worldcom," he said.

He added that DAP will be raising the Transmile fraud in June's parliamentary session.

Transmile closed 32% lower at RM6 yesterday from its RM8.90 pre-suspension level last Monday, causing massive losses to small-time investors.

Shocked by the outcome, Khazanah Nasional Bhd has ordered an inquiry into Transmile.

Khazanah unit's Pos Malaysia, is the second largest investor in Transmile after Malaysia's richest man, Robert Kuok.

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