KUALA LUMPUR, July 29 — Former MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said today the rule of law must be upheld, even as his party senior, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik was marched into the dock for his role in the multi-billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.“Certainly we need to uphold the rule of law. Nobody should be above the law,” Ong responded immediately to reporters here after learning Dr Ling had just been charged.
“I’m not interested in specific personalities,” he said, adding that he prayed the interest of the general public, especially taxpayers, would be protected.Dr Ling led the MCA for 17 years, from 1986 to 2003, and is still regarded as a powerhouse in the ruling Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Chinese party.While Dr Ling pleaded not guilty, the charge will likely jeopardize the MCA’s current efforts to garner the confidence and support from the ethnic Chinese community.
The PKFZ project was mooted during Dr Ling’s term as Transport Minister and the cost of the project, initially estimated at fewer than RM2 billion, more than doubled to RM4.6 billion by 2007.
The cost are reckoned to balloon further to as much as RM12.5 billion, due to interest costs from deferred payments if the trans-shipment hub fails to perform.Ong acknowledged as much even as he tried to defend his party against its detractors, likely whooping in delight at the latest prosecution development.
“It’s unfair to co-relate an individual’s deed with partisan deeds,” said Ong, after speaking at the 15th Malaysian Law Conference here this afternoon.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/no-ones-above-law-says-tee-keat/
The PKFZ project was mooted during Dr Ling’s term as Transport Minister and the cost of the project, initially estimated at fewer than RM2 billion, more than doubled to RM4.6 billion by 2007.
The cost are reckoned to balloon further to as much as RM12.5 billion, due to interest costs from deferred payments if the trans-shipment hub fails to perform.Ong acknowledged as much even as he tried to defend his party against its detractors, likely whooping in delight at the latest prosecution development.
“It’s unfair to co-relate an individual’s deed with partisan deeds,” said Ong, after speaking at the 15th Malaysian Law Conference here this afternoon.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/no-ones-above-law-says-tee-keat/
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