Former sec-gen says government aware of PKFZ land buy

By Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 6 — Former Ministry of Transportation secretary-general Datuk Zaharah Shaari said the Cabinet was fully aware of the land acquisition for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
In the verbatim of the Public Accounts Committee’s (PAC) meeting procedures released Wednesday, Zaharah said the ministry had to “go by Cabinet decision.”
PAC reported that the government would have spent RM442.13 and saved RM645.87 million if the land had been acquired for PKFZ in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
It also reported that the cost of the land was RM47.76 per square foot, or 67 per cent higher than the RM25 fixed by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH).
Zaharah explained that the ministry and former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik had agreed with the Treasury secretary-general that the land be acquired in accordance with the Land Acquisition Act 1960.
“I think the Cabinet was informed that we should go for land acquisition and then the Cabinet agreed that we should go for land acquisition. However in the final stages, the state government did not agree with the land acquisition because the project was abandoned and the party from Dubai informed that if the land is not available… but at certain time, they will pull out,” she said.
She added that the matter was referred to the Cabinet for a proper solution and stressed that Ling was in direct contact with the former finance and prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) was chaired by Dr Mahathir. — file pic

“The Cabinet then decided to acquire the land but when the central agency did not agree and gave its views. The Cabinet, if I am not mistaken, told the ministry to delay its decision, to buy the land directly from Kuala Dimensi (KDSB) until a different decision was made. “I think after that the Cabinet agreed to its original decision to buy the land. I think based on that final decision, the ministry went ahead to allow PKA (Port Klang Authority) to purchase the land on that decision,” she said.
Zaharah stressed that the ministry had to go by the Cabinet’s decision.
“There is no way that the land could have been purchased, you know without the rightful authorisation,” she said.
Ling also testified to the PAC that his ministry could only “state the fact that we wanted the land.”
Ling pointed out that the costing and valuation of the land was determined by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) which was chaired by Dr Mahathir.
Zaharah also revealed that she had never seen the three letters of support by former transport minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy except when she asked to attend a meeting and had to ask the ministry for a copy of the letters.
“The second letter, sent by Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, I only saw it two, three weeks after I informed to attend a meeting to get information. The ministry only gave me one copy, the first letter.
“If I am not mistaken, the first letter, I saw the date on the copy was 2004 ... but I did not know where the letter was, did not know anything about the letter. I also asked whether other officers had received them because I am curious to know since it was my time.
“I was informed by the ministry and other officers that they also did not know about the letter,” she said.
She admitted that she was not always informed of the many decisions made by the minister.
“Sometimes I was informed and sometimes I was not informed,” she added.
The Public Accounts Committee recommended that Chan and former PKA general manager Datin Paduka OC Phang be investigated for criminal breach of trust in the PKFZ scandal.
It also recommended investigations into the role of other government officials serving in PKA when the project was being developed.
The PAC found both Chan and Phang to have breached the Financial Procedure Act 1957 by issuing three letters of support and three letters of undertaking without the approval of the Finance Ministry.