PKR leader Chua Jui Meng is baffled by Umno's by-stander attitude in not rising to the defence of embattled Transport Minister Ong Tee Keat.

Ong is facing attacks from within and outside his party MCA over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) issue.

Chua, the former health minister, finds Umno's absolute silence over the crisis rather strange, which he described as un-Barisan Nasional like.

‘Umno dominates and controls BN'.

"All these years, Umno leaders have come out in the open to defend their under-attack colleagues from component parties.

"But Umno's silence in Ong's case is deafening," he said, adding that scandal had cause public anxiety because it involved enormous sums of public funds.

This is the reason why, he said Umno leaders, who form the core of federal government leadership, cannot be so quiet about it.

NONE "The prime minister (Najib Abdul Razak) did not defend his minister neither did the deputy premier (Muhyiddin Yassin).

"Did any other Umno minister defend Ong?

"The answer is no . . . not at all," Chua ( left ) said to newsmen after speaking at a dinner attended by some 2,000 people in Bukit Mertajam last night.

He said it was unprecedented for Umno leaders to just stand by and watch a defenceles Ong being subject to mounting attacks and pressure by his detractors over his handling of the Port Klang Free Zone scandal .

Punished for exposing truth

"Ong is the president of the second largest BN component party and no one from Umno is protecting him.

"I find it strange," said Chua, who lost is challenge for the MCA presidency to Ong in the party elections last October.

MCA president Ong is already facing a suit by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd's (KDSB) chief executive officer and Bintulu parliamentarian Tiong King Sing over his outspoken and transparent handling of the PKFZ issue.

The suit, filed on Friday at the Kuala Lumpur High Court, claimed that Ong, the Port Klang Authority and its chairman, Lee Hwa Beng, had overstepped their authority by publishing the PriceWaterhouseCoopers report on PKFZ.

NONE Ong ( right ) said despite Tiong's wild claims against him, the probe into the PKFZ scandal would continue.

The minister has also said that MCA central committee had unanimously supported his decision to sue Tiong, who claimed he had given RM10 million to Ong last year for party activities.

The MCA boss is expected to file the law suit against Tiong, the BN Nasional Backbenchers Club Chairperson, today.

Ong is also under attack from his deputy Dr Chua Soi Lek, who criticised his president for "dragging the party into a legal battle over his personal problem."

PKFZ, an integrated 400ha free commercial and industrial zone adjacent to Port Klang housing various facilities such as a warehouse, an office block and a four-star hotel, became embroiled in the controversy after it was revealed that the development cost had shot up from RM2.5 billion to RM4.6 billion.

The Port Klang Authority (PKA) had lodged a police report after a task force set up to investigate the controversy found billing discrepancies of between RM500 million and RM1 billion submitted by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, project turnkey contractor, and development contractor BTA Architects.

Chua complimented Ong for having the courage and determination to probe into PKFZ scandal despite being under pressure from various quarters.

"At least Ong is unafraid to expose the truth," he said.