The High Court was previously told that an economic adviser to the then prime
minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had found the Pulau Indah land to be viable for
development into a trans-shipment hub.
Grilled by both Dr Ling’s defence lawyer and the trial judge on this point, Abdul Rahim replied: “At RM2.44 billion, the project is not viable.”Abdul Rahim, who was also a PKA board member between November 15, 2002, and 2004, said he was not told of any problems with the land purchase.Former transport minister Dr Ling was charged in July last year with knowingly deceiving the Cabinet into approving the land purchase for the mammoth port hub, which resulted in wrongful losses for the government that has ballooned to RM12.5 billion.
The prosecution has argued that the additional interest of 7.5 per cent per annum, amounting to some RM720 million, had pushed PKA’s land purchase from RM1.09 billion to RM1.88 billion for the port project.This was despite knowing that the government’s Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) had already taken the interest into account when it valued the land at RM25 per square foot.
Dr Ling, an ex-MCA president, also faces two alternative charges of deceiving Cabinet into believing that the purchase at RM25 psf and the 7.5 per cent interest rate were acknowledged and agreed to by JPPH despite knowing that there was no such agreement.The veteran politician faces up to seven years’ jail and a fine if convicted of the principal charge under section 418 of the Penal Code. The trial resumes on Monday morning.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pkfz-project-not-viable-at-rm2.44b-says-ex-treasury-official/
Grilled by both Dr Ling’s defence lawyer and the trial judge on this point, Abdul Rahim replied: “At RM2.44 billion, the project is not viable.”Abdul Rahim, who was also a PKA board member between November 15, 2002, and 2004, said he was not told of any problems with the land purchase.Former transport minister Dr Ling was charged in July last year with knowingly deceiving the Cabinet into approving the land purchase for the mammoth port hub, which resulted in wrongful losses for the government that has ballooned to RM12.5 billion.
The prosecution has argued that the additional interest of 7.5 per cent per annum, amounting to some RM720 million, had pushed PKA’s land purchase from RM1.09 billion to RM1.88 billion for the port project.This was despite knowing that the government’s Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) had already taken the interest into account when it valued the land at RM25 per square foot.
Dr Ling, an ex-MCA president, also faces two alternative charges of deceiving Cabinet into believing that the purchase at RM25 psf and the 7.5 per cent interest rate were acknowledged and agreed to by JPPH despite knowing that there was no such agreement.The veteran politician faces up to seven years’ jail and a fine if convicted of the principal charge under section 418 of the Penal Code. The trial resumes on Monday morning.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/pkfz-project-not-viable-at-rm2.44b-says-ex-treasury-official/
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