KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 13 — A former senior Transport Ministry official whose job
was to take care of all financial and administrative paperwork appeared to have
been kept in the dark over crucial dealings of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ),
Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik’s trial heard today.Datuk Zaharah Shaari was secretary-general of the Ministry of Transport (MoT)
from June 1999 to July 2005 when the PKFZ deal was sealed.But she testified in the High Court today that she had not seen or was not
told of the contents of a number of letters and memos, including a much-disputed
valuation letter on a piece of land on Pulau Indah the government wanted for the
project; an initial ministry offer letter to Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) for
the land dated October 2, 2000; as well as KDSB’s subsequent letter of
acceptance three days later.
Now retired, Zaharah said that all paperwork sent to the ministry would first be gathered at a central registry before being delivered to her office for distribution, except for those sent by hand.“Those letters don’t arrive at my office... They are taken direct to the rooms of the respective officials,” the 62-year-old said.The court had previously been told that the federal government’s Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) had written to the ministry, in a letter dated September 29, 2000, putting a price tag of RM25 per square foot (psf) for the PKFZ land.Copies of the valuation letter bore a stamp “Dengan Tangan (Hand Delivered)”, and addressed “for the attention of En Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor”.
Zaharah also said she only knew about the September 2000 valuation report during a meeting with then-de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, chaired by Dr Ling, who was then Transport Minister.She said she could not remember when the meeting was held or if it had been recorded, but seemed well-versed with the issue raised.“The issue raised was the cost of ‘willing-buyer-willing-seller’ and the (offer) letter from MoT to the company (KDSB) which is a binding letter. That’s all I remember was discussed,” Zaharah replied to deputy public prosecutor Adilla Ahmad.Dr Ling is accused of misleading the government into embarking on the multi-million project to turn Port Klang into a competitive regional distribution hub.
The trial was adjourned to tomorrow.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ex-transport-ministry-official-claims-ignorance-over-pkfz-valuation-report/
Now retired, Zaharah said that all paperwork sent to the ministry would first be gathered at a central registry before being delivered to her office for distribution, except for those sent by hand.“Those letters don’t arrive at my office... They are taken direct to the rooms of the respective officials,” the 62-year-old said.The court had previously been told that the federal government’s Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) had written to the ministry, in a letter dated September 29, 2000, putting a price tag of RM25 per square foot (psf) for the PKFZ land.Copies of the valuation letter bore a stamp “Dengan Tangan (Hand Delivered)”, and addressed “for the attention of En Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor”.
Zaharah also said she only knew about the September 2000 valuation report during a meeting with then-de facto Law Minister Datuk Seri Rais Yatim, chaired by Dr Ling, who was then Transport Minister.She said she could not remember when the meeting was held or if it had been recorded, but seemed well-versed with the issue raised.“The issue raised was the cost of ‘willing-buyer-willing-seller’ and the (offer) letter from MoT to the company (KDSB) which is a binding letter. That’s all I remember was discussed,” Zaharah replied to deputy public prosecutor Adilla Ahmad.Dr Ling is accused of misleading the government into embarking on the multi-million project to turn Port Klang into a competitive regional distribution hub.
The trial was adjourned to tomorrow.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/ex-transport-ministry-official-claims-ignorance-over-pkfz-valuation-report/
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