MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek says today’s acquittal of Dr Ling Liong Sik on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) cheating charges affirmed the party’s long-held belief in the intergrity of the former transport minister.

NONEChua (left) said the High Court decision should put to rest any “misconception on Ling’s role” in the multi-billion ringgit project scandal.

“We (MCA) have all along believed in Tun Dr Ling’s integrity in carrying out his duties when he was the MCA president as well as cabinet minister.

“We are always confident that the judiciary system of the country is impartial in carrying out its duties and Tun Ling had been found to have done no wrong in carrying out his duties,” Chua added in a statement.

The 70-year-old, who served as transport minister for more than 17 years from 1986 to 2003, was charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 percent a year on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, knowing that it had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per square foot, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.

Ling also faced two alternative charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the cabinet that the 7.5 percent a year was an additional interest rate on the land price, causing the government to pay an extra RM720 million.

Ling was alleged to have committed the offences at the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office, Perdana Putra building in Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.

Among the grounds for its ruling, the High Court said Ling cannot be held accountable for any mistakes, or inaccuracies in the ministry's documents on the PKFZ land acquisition, since he was not the ministry’s 'numero uno' (number one) and that blame should be apportioned to the officers who drafted them.

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