Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha has been accused of undoing the remedial actions on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal undertaken by his predecessor.

NONE The latest example could be seen in Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairperson Teh Kim Poh's letter to the Bar Council, DAP information chief Tony Pua said in a statement today.

"Kong ( at right in picture ) must answer as to why he has almost single-handedly unravelled all which were in the process of being done to bring to book the guilty parties and to safeguard the interests of Malaysian taxpayers," Pua said.

In Teh's letter, as reported by The Sun today, PKA informs the Bar Council of its decision to withdraw a complaint lodged against Rashid Asari & Co.

According to the report, Teh explains that the move is to prevent law firm Rashid Asari & Co from becoming a "hostile witness" in other cases that PKA is involved in.

NONE Teh ( left ), who is also Klang MCA division chairperson, had told The Sun that he made the decision after taking advice from PKA's legal advisers and two board members who were lawyers - and not from the cabinet nor a federal government task force established to rehabilitate PKFZ.

The law firm was accused of conflict of interest by a PKA-commissioned audit - undertaken by PriceWaterhouse-Coopers - on PKFZ in 2008, when Ong Tee Keat was then MCA president and transport minister.

The audit report says Rashid Asari & Co was in conflict of interest by representing both the seller, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, and the buyer, PKA, in a land deal for the PKFZ site.

'PKA jeopardising own interest'

According to Pua, other recent examples of alleged sabotage of Ong's work by Kong includes PKA's decision to withdraw all civil litigation against Kuala Dimensi for failing to carry out as much as RM1.6 billion in works, fictitious billings and excessive charges.

NONE "However, at KDSB's behest and with the obvious motive of sweeping the entire BN scandal under the carpet, PKA has agreed to proceed with the arbitration instead, despite the obvious criminality of the alleged offences," Pua ( left ) said.

He pointed out that the chief executive officer and major shareholder of Kuala Dimensi was none other than the BN backbenchers club head and Bintulu MP.

"Kong has also directed that all payments which are due to KDSB be paid to the latter's bondholders, despite the decision to withhold payment by the previous PKA Board.

"The decision to withhold was because of the earlier mentioned legal dispute," he added.

By paying Kuala Dimensi, Pua said, PKA would be jeopardising its own interest because it would be done before the court decides whether such payments were due.

"The payment amounts to nearly RM700 million annually and has since been paid promptly by the current PKA," said Pua.

Kong must also not ignore the fact that Malaysian taxpayers were now saddled with a RM12.5 billion debt because of the federal government's mismanagement of the PKFZ scandal.

Recent actions by the PKA, taking place right under Kong's nose, reflects a lack of urgency to resolve the matter and demonstrates that there is an attempt to protect powerful elements at the expense of the taxpayers, Pua added.