Now that the technical issues hampering the release of the audit report of the troubled Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) have been resolved, Malaysians can expect to get their hands on the long-awaited document.

But don’t hold your breath. While the technical hurdles have been cleared, the same cannot be said of the political hurdles.

port klang free zone pkfz audit It is still not clear whether we will be able to see the report in its entirety, or with certain parts censored, or at all.

The political costs of full disclosure for the government of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will be significant. Personalities from key parties in the ruling BN coalition allegedly had their hands deep in the PKFZ till.

PKFZ, which began as a RM1.8 billion free-trade zone project in Port Klang in 2002, has since saw its cost ballooned to RM4.6 billion. Recent reports have estimated losses up to RM12 billion.

port klang free zone pkfz white elephant cost overruns 200509 The project has been mired with serious conflict-of-interest breaches between top officials of the port authority supervising the project and executives of private companies, who are in turn key politicians in the ruling BN government (see chart).

Ong Tee Keat, in his early months as transport minister, had declared that the audit report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) - which was commissioned to examine PKFZ books following the scandal last year - would be made public.

He had subsequently instructed PKA to release the report by April 29.

But three weeks after the deadline, there is still no signs of the report. Instead, it was delayed apparently because PwC had sought an indemnity letter from PKA, which will shield them from being sued for the report contents.

Today, lawyers hired by PKA have advised the port authority that such an indemnity letter could be issued to the international auditing firm. This should pave the way for the controversial report to be finally released to the public.

Cabinet to make final decision

Now, however, there is a new twist. PKA chairperson Lee Hwa Beng said the port authority has no powers to release the report. It appeared that the decision rests with the cabinet.

Opposition leader Lim Kit Siang was flummoxed.

“This is most unbelievable! Wasn’t it Ong himself who issued a categorical, even commanding, instruction to PKA ... to release the PwC audit report on the PKFZ to the public ‘within seven days’?” asked the veteran politician.

“Why one excuse after another since then to justify why the PwC report on the PKFZ has not yet seen the light of day, until the whole responsibility is thrown back to the cabinet...?

According to Ong yesterday, the cabinet had discussed the vexing issue for two consecutive meetings.

The pressure is on newly-minted PM Najib, who has coined the slogan ‘People First, Performance Now’, to make a final decision at the next cabinet meeting on Wednesday on whether the report be finally released.

Why is Ong bowing to pressures?

Meanwhile, Lim is closing in on MCA boss Ong.

“There should be no need to remind Ong of the various past pledges he had made in the past 15 months to ‘tell all’ about the PKFZ scandal, and that ‘paper cannot wrap embers’ especially as the PKFZ scandal has become so infested to become an even bigger ‘can of worms’.

ong tee keat pkfz klang visit 060508 06 “In now saying that the cabinet has to decide whether to make public the PwC audit report, is Ong admitting that his powers as transport minister has been clipped and his earlier decision for the report to be made public had been overruled by mysterious but powerful forces?”

Lim appeared to suggest that the ‘revert back to the cabinet’ move indicated that there is tremendous resistance to the release of the report.

“Why is Ong knuckling down to the pressures of those who do not want the PwC report to be made public, by agreeing to revert back the issue to the cabinet, when the cabinet had earlier given him the ‘greenlight’ to make public the PwC report?”

ong tee keat pkfz klang visit 060508 05 The opposition leader also ticked off the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for “springing into action” when allegations of wrongdoings went as far back as 2004.

“It is most ridiculous for the MACC to strike the stance as is it is an innocent who is getting information about the PKFZ scandal for the first time, and is awaiting the PwC report to get more information for necessary follow-up action.”

Some observers believe that the MACC investigation could be used as an excuse for the cabinet not to release the report to the public.