"Thank you very much. That is very generous."

This was how Dr Ling Liong Sik responded this morning when asked about former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's willingness to appear for him as a witness in court.

"I'm being charged with cheating the whole cabinet, including him. So all those witnesses are very important.

"If they were cheated, then I'm guilty. If they were not cheated, then there is a trial," he said outside the Palace of Justice in Putrajaya, after appealing for the charges against him in connection with the Port Klang Fee Zone scandal to be transferred to the High Court in Kuala Lumpur.

At the time of his alleged crime, Ling was the transport minister. 

Asked about comments made that he was "merely a scapegoat in the case", Ling said, "When you are in the Palace of Justice, don't talk of (being a) scapegoat."

Earlier, before he went into the courtroom, he told reporters that he hoped he would be vindicated as soon as possible.

"When you are in the Palace of Justice, you must have confidence."

'No problem about title'

On the matter of the suspension of his 'Dato' title by the sultan of Selangor, Ling said he had 'no problem' with it.

"That is his decision. His right. He can give, he can take," Ling said. "I have no feelings. You only have feelings if they take away what is yours... I have no problem at all about the title."