The Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah has suspended the state award which carries the title "Datuk" conferred on former transport minister Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy in view of the court case facing him in connection with the Port Klang Free Zone scandal.
Selangor State Secretary Datuk Mohammad Khusrin Munawi said the sultan made the decision after taking into consideration that the charges against Chan were serious as it involved the interest of the people and country.
He said that the award conferred on Chan would be reviewed should the court free him of the charges.
On Feb 28, Chan pleaded not guilty to three counts of cheating over the PKFZ project.
Chan, 55, is charged with cheating former prime minister Tun Abdullah Badawi in the controversial PKFZ project between 2004 and 2006. He was alleged to have:
-between Feb 24 and Feb 25, 2004, deceived Abdullah into approving renovation works to be carried out by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) as the turnkey developer of PKFZ, which was previously called as Pulau Indah Free Zone;
