DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang has put up an interesting poser - will former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's 2002 cabinet take the witness stand in former transport minister Ling Liong Sik's cheating trial?

teoh beng hock memorial night 160710 kit siang Lim ( right ) argued that they are crucial witnesses in the trial because the charge sheet explicitly states that Ling was accused of misleading the then cabinet on the purchase of land for Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

According to Lim, those who are still ministers since 2002 include Najib Abdul Razak (then defence minister), Muhyiddin Yassin (domestic trade), Hishammuddin Hussein (youth and sports), Nazri Abdul Aziz (entrepreneur development), Rais Yatim and Bernard Dompok (both ministers in the PM's department).

Others who have since been dropped since are Rafidah Aziz, Azmi Khalid, Chua Jui Meng, Fong Chan Onn, Ong Ka Ting, Lim Keng Yaik, S Samy Vellu and Law Hieng Ding.

"Will Mahathir or any of his ministers in the 2002 cabinet testify in court of being misled by Ling to approve Port Klang Authority's purchase of PKFZ land with a 15-year repayment period with compound interest instead of 10 years?" asked Lim.

Yesterday, Ling was charged at the Putrajaya Sessions Court under Section 418 of the Penal Code and was offered an alternative charge under Section 417 of the same law.

He faces a maximum jail term of seven years and a fine. Ling pleaded not guilty to both charges.

We want more, AG told

In a related development, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory panel member Robert Phang has urged attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail to keep his promise that more "big fish" would be hauled up over the PKFZ scandal.

NONE Referring to an interview which appeared in The Sun on Jan 15, Phang ( left ) said Abdul Gani had appealed to the public back then for time in order to bring those behind the scandal to justice.

"Since the A-G has asked us to be patient, my appeal to the public is to give the authorities the benefit of the doubt and provide support in order for big and small fish to be apprehended.

"At the same time, the public also wants to issue a gentle reminder to the A-G and the authorities that this is a very important case and we are watching - so don't take too long," he said in a statement today.