Two Per Cent Payment Made To KDSB To Prove PKA's Commitment To Develop PKFZ - Phang

KUALA LUMPUR -- Former general manager of Port Klang Authority (PKA), O.C Phang, told the High Court here that the downpayment of two per cent to Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) was to prove PKA's commitment to develop the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.She also said that soon after being informed about the cabinet's approval for the purchase of the 1,000 acre (404.7 hectare) site at Pulau Indah by former Transport Ministry deputy secretary-general (planning), Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor, he told PKA assistant general manager (administration), Paul Seo Tet Cheng, to make the necessary preparations for the project.

Phang said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Tun Majid Tun Hamzah.Phang also told the court that she was later informed by PKA finance manager Rohasnah Othman that the two per cent downpayment could not be made as there were certain procedures which had to be observed before making the payment.Phang said she took responsibility for making the payment because she did not regard it as something which was not right.

Prior to this, Rohasnah, who is the 10th prosecution witness, said Phang was insistent in wanting to make the two per cent downpayment, totalling RM21 million, and that she was prepared to take full responsibility for the directive issued to her.Phang, who is the 14th prosecution witness, was testifying in the trial of former Transport Minister Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is charged with cheating the Malaysian Government by not disclosing to the Cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 per cent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, which had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) based on RM25 per sq ft inclusive of the coupon/interest rate.

Dr Ling, 68, also faces two alternative charges, of cheating and intentionally hiding from the Cabinet that the 7.5 per cent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price.He allegedly 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.The hearing before Judge Ahmadi Asnawi continues today.

 

Source : Bernama