'Treasury officer proposed contractor for PKFZ'

A senior Treasury officer has been blamed for pushing for Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) to be appointed as the turnkey contractor for the scandal-hit Port Klang Free Zone project.

Former transport minister Dr Ling Liong Sik named the former deputy secretary-general of the Treasury, Abdul Rahim Mokti, as the officer who had proposed that KDSB be appointed the contractor.

This was because Rahim was the only Treasury representative at the meeting held on Jan 30, 2002, that Ling chaired, Ling said during re-examination by his counsel Wong Kian Kheong.

Ling said Rahim was the only officer representing the Treasury, and therefore "it must be Rahim Mokti", who would have come up with such suggestion.

He reiterated that the Treasury was tasked with deciding on the PKFZ land deal and contract, while his responsibility was to obtain the land for the mega hub transhipment project with Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza).

Ever since the attack on the World Trade Center in New York, he said, investors began to move away from Arab countries and Malaysia had became the "first choice" for these investors.

"But the government had yet to obtain the PKFZ land since the first decision made on March 24, 1999," he said.

Ling also told the court that the countries neighbouring Malaysia were also interested in cooperating with Jafza, which had threatened to shift elsewhere.

That was part of the reason why the government decided to purchase the land, instead of acquiring it, he added.

Ling, 69, is defending himself against a charge of cheating the government by concealing from the cabinet, between Oct 2 and Oct 29, 2002, the existence of an additional 7.5 percent interest rate per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project.

He was charged on July 29, 2010, under Section 418 of the Penal Code, which carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison, or a fine, or both.

He faces two alternative charges of cheating and intentionally omitting information in his report to the cabinet on the additional interest rate, which carries up to five years’ jail or a fine, or both.

Earlier, the court agreed to postpone to trial after Ling complained of diziness due to low blood sugar. He was then sent to hospital.

The hearing was fixed to resume on Friday morning, with Ling's lawyer continuing with the re-examination.

Mahathir to testify next month in Ling cheating trial