Business tycoon-cum-politician Tiong King Sing today said he will be taking legal action against Transparency International - Malaysia (TI-M) and its chief Paul Low for implicating his company Kuala Dimensi in a corruption report.

Yesterday Tiong had given TI-M and Low 24 hours to substantiate their claims that the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) was the biggest scandal of the year which was caused by political patronage involving, among others, Umno politicians and Tiong's

Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd.

NONE Tiong, who is the Bintulu MP as well as the BN Backbenchers Committee chairperson, was irked by TI-M's 'Global Corruption Report 2009: Corruption and the Private Sector' which implicated Kuala Dimensi in the PKFZ scandal.

At the end of his 24-hour deadline today, Tiong called for a press conference to announce that he would be taking legal actions against the corruption watchdog and its chief.

"I will definitely sue them, but we have to get the full (TI-M) report first and understand the content before we take legal action," he said.

He also urged the government to investigate TI-M, adding that the purpose of the report seemed like it was released to tarnish the country's image.

Low had declined to respond to Tiong's challenge, stating that the TI-M report was based on media reports as well as other publicly available information regarding the PKFZ scandal.

‘Damage to our reputation'

Tiong however expressed surprised with Low's statement that the report was prepared based on media reports.

He said that reports in the media did not reflect the whole truth of the issue as it included different opinions from all parties involved.

"Why did TI-M not carry an investigation by itself for the report?" he asked.

Tiong added that the corruption watchdog should not abuse its freedom of expression as its statement could tarnish Kuala Dimensi's reputation.

The Bintulu MP also reminded all parties, including media practitioners, to have a clearer picture on the issue before passing comments on PKFZ.

"I know sensationalized contents can increase circulation, but if this leads in riots, we will all feel the pain," he added.

Kuala Dimensi had been in the limelight for the wrong reasons in recent month after it had been identified as a cause for the cost of the PKFZ project to balloon from RM2.5 billion up to RM4.6 billion, and eventually hitting a possible staggering RM12 billion.

The PKFZ aims to become a hub for the transfer of goods to ships and was built on 405 hectares of land for the establishment of warehouses, office blocks and a four-star hotel. Kuala Dimensi was the turnkey developer for the project.

As a result of the fallout, both Kuala Dimensi and PKFZ project proponent Port Klang Authority are involved in suits and counter-suits.