Dr Ling also told the court that he could not understand JPPH’s valuation of the land, saying it was very “confusing” to him
Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik admitted during his cheating trial today that he does not understand the purpose behind the issuance of bonds to finance a property purchase.
Dr Ling, who served as Malaysia’s transport minister for 17 years until 2003, told the High Court that while he has heard of bonds, his knowledge on the matter is limited to what he reads in stock market reports.
“That’s all I know,” he said to a question from lead prosecutor Datuk Tun Majid Tun Hamzah during cross-examination this afternoon.
“What about bonds for purchasing property? Or bonds to finance a purchase?” Tun Majid asked.
Shrugging, Dr Ling said, “No.”
“So you have never heard about people raising bonds to finance a purchase?” Tun Majid continued.
“No. They may be doing it but I don’t know how to do it and I don’t understand its purpose,” Dr Ling replied.
PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar has urged Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz to divulge what transpired during past Cabinet discussions on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
He said Nazri's statement many ministers opposed the project but later agreed to it for fear of it turning into "a big issue", was unacceptable.
"What does Nazri mean by they had to agree to the project in the end, despite having many ministers opposing it because they are afraid of it becoming a bigger issue? What is this 'bigger issue'?
"Nazri needs to give an explanation to the rakyat about what happened during the meeting and what the opinions of the other ministers were.
"The rakyat need to know because Nazri was among the Cabinet members present when (the Then Transport Minister) Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik proposed the PKFZ project," said the Pokok Sena MP at a Press conference at the Parliament lobby yesterday.
The High Court hearing the case involving former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is charged with cheating the government, was told today that audio-recordings of cabinet meetings were destroyed after the minutes of the meetings were endorsed.
Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation head, Supt R.Rajagopal, 48, said because of that he could not tender the recording as an exhibit.
In the hearing last Monday, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz told the court that an audio-recording would be made during cabinet meetings, including when they discussed the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
Rajagopal, who is the 25th prosecution witness, said Dr Ling gave his full cooperation during the police investigation on Oct 2, 2009 and April 1 last year.
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz told the High Court here today, that many members of the Cabinet were against the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
This happened during a meeting in 2002, he said, adding that although there was no notes on it in any documents or minutes of the meeting, he could still recall that many ministers opposed the project, but in the end agreed to it for fear of it becoming a big issue.
"At the meeting, when the matter (PKFZ project) came up, many said that the project might not succeed. At that time, we did not want to interfere because the land price was high. RM1 billion was a huge amount then (2002).
"Many knew the land was sold for RM25 per sq foot (psf)," he said when cross-examined by lawyer Wong Kian Kheong, who represented former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is charged with cheating the Malaysian Government.
Reporters try to get Dr Ling to say a few words outside the courtroom today, May 3, 2011.
The high-profile trial of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik has been postponed to August 1 after the prosecution team argued that it needed more time to declassify documents relating to the case.
Dr Ling has been charged with cheating Putrajaya over the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone land project scandal.
The lead prosecutor from the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah, said the prosecution had identified 23 documents from Cabinet meetings from March 24, 1999 to July 4, 2007, but needed time to get clearance from the various ministries to declassify the documents.
“There is a lot of information involved, some which cannot be declassified. The prosecution will use the documents as evidence.
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;
MCA secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng meet with Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho the EGM chief coordinator for Dr Chua.Both has now agree to have a single EGM known as the Presidential EGM. Both parties are hopely will meet to fix the date for the EGM.
Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho EGM action committee chief coordinator
Dr Liow and Kong are seen as replacement for the Ong and Chua , if Ong and Chua voluntary resign for the sake of unity in MCA.
The leaders of a campaign to topple Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat as MCA president met with the party secretary general to explore the possibility of combining their extraordinary general meeting (EGM) with a competing one called by Ong himself.
This comes after MCA secretary general Datuk Wong Foon Meng tried to avert a two EGM scenario and gave supporters of sacked deputy president Datuk Chua Soi Lek until today to submit their EGM agenda saying that two EGMs would be a waste of party resources and delegate’s time.
The deadline was extended indefinitely following the meeting between Datuk Seri Tan Chai Ho, who is chief coordinator of the campaign, and Wong.
Tan, who came with a copy of the five resolutions of what has been called the central delegate’s EGM, had wanted to exchange agendas with what is now called the president’s EGM.
MCA secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng today announced that both party president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek's camps had agreed to a joint extraordinary general meeting.
Supporters of sacked MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek want the party president, Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat, to propose a date for the next meeting between the two warring factions to discuss matters pertaining to a single Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM).
It was learned that Ong's resolutions will include the central delegates' endorsement of the decision to expel Chua and also to support Ong in getting to the bottom of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal. It was reported that the committee has two major resolutions for the EGM, which were to: > Reinstate Chua as the deputy president; and > Move a motion of no-confidence against Ong.
Earlier Tan told reporters the discussion with Wong did not take place because the action committee wanted to read Ong's resolutions before submitting its resolutions to the party headquarters.
"We would like to thank Wong for meeting us but we can only discuss when the president's resolutions are ready. To be fair, it is better for us to read the resolutions together. We will decide on the possibility to hold the EGM together after going through the president's resolutions and we hope that Ong will sit down and talk to us," he said, adding that another date will be fixed for the discussion.
Asked how many resolutions have been drafted by the committee, Tan said he will only make public the resolutions after discussion with party headquarters.
On whether the committee has an ideal date for the EGM, he said he was unable to say, but that it shall be decided by the secretary-general after the committee has officially submitted the petition for an EGM.
"We are ready to submit the petition anytime as we have collected more than 800 signatures and we will continue to receive signatures from the central delegates," he said.
On the accusation that some central delegates were forced to sign the petition, Tan said the delegates signed voluntarily after reading the resolutions and witnessed by lawyers and oath commissioners.
MCA Disciplinary Board Asked To Be On Lookout For Money Politics
MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat wants the party's disciplinary board to be on the lookout for money politics ahead of its extraordinary general meeting (EGM).
The Transport Minister said MCA viewed the matter seriously and would not compromise on money politics in whatever form.
"Perhaps our disciplinary board or MCA's secretariat can follow up on this. We cannot compromise on any kind of graft or commonly known as money politics," he told reporters after holding a meeting with Pahang MCA members here Saturday.
Prior to this, MCA secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng had stated that there had been numerous complaints from the grassroots alleging "signatures were being bought" for the convening of a rival party EGM.
Central Delegates lobby to replace Ong and Chua with Liow and Kong
Sin Chew Daily recently found that some MCA Central delegates have started to lobby other Central delegates to quell the current dispute and internal conflict by asking President Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek to resign, and electing successors to replace them.
It is reported that these Central delegates reflect the current idea of the grass-roots in which they support neither Ong nor Dr Chua. They believe that the current situation of the party is derived from the hatred between Ong and Dr Chua instead of the whole leadership. Also, they do not wish the hatred to cause another unnecessary party struggle and split.
It is understood that these Central delegates are trying to contact and propose the idea to other Central delegates who tend to support the Chua faction. They lobby them to persuade Dr Chua to accept the proposal.
It is said that they believe that if both Ong and Dr Chua step down, the Central Committee will elect the most suitable candidates to be their successors.
Among the four Vice-Presidents, namely Datuk Kong Cho Ha, Datuk Seri Dr Liow Tiong Lai, Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen and Tan Kok Hong, Kong and Dr Liow(the current Minister of Health of Malalysia ) are most likely to be elected as the successors.
It is said that the Central delegates, who tend to support the Chua faction, have not yet given any response to the proposal, but they wonder whether Ong is willing to step down. They believe that in order to have both Ong and Dr Chua resign, they must first have Dr Chua back to the party for discussions and negotiations.
A MCA veteran pointed out that there are only two options available for MCA now. Firstly, they have to choose between Ong and Dr Chua; secondly, both of Ong and Dr Chua have to resign.
Ong is betting his political career on his own EGM.
Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing alleged that alleged RM10 million donation to Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was handed over in three cash installments of RM5 million, RM1 million and RM4 million, the as China Press reported .
MCA party sectary General Datuk WOng Foon Meng confirmed EGM is going to be held within 30 days.
MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has instructed party secretary-general Datuk Wong Foon Meng to convene an emergency general meeting (EGM) within 30 days.
Wong, when contacted, confirmed he received Ong's instructions Monday morning."Based on Article 30.1 of the party constitution, the president can call for an EGM," said Wong.
Ong's directive preempts moves by Dr Chua's supporters to gather enough signatures from delegates to convene an EGM seeking to nullify Dr Chua's expulsion and reinstate him as deputy president, and pass a no-confidence vote against Ong.
Ong Tee Keat Controversial MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat has filed a RM500mil defamation suit against Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing over the latter’s claim that he gave RM10mil to the minister. The suit was motivated by Tiong’s allegation that he had “donated” RM10mil to Ong.Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing got shares in Kuala Dimension who is deep shit over the Port Klang Free Zone expose . Dimension is one of the 12 companies being investigated for the 1.5 billion wrong claims on the project.
Ong’s lawsuit against Tiong may drag on for years before a judgment can be made against the real culprit. The intention was clear. The allegation was made to discredit Ong and to allow his detractors to build up a strong resistance against his leadership.
His nemesis was hoping that MCA leaders at the division level who believed that he took the RM10mil might become upset with him for pocketing the money. The lawsuit will become purely academic if Ong does not survive the onslaught from within and without his party.
Then lately MCA President influence the centre committe to fire and sack Dr Chua the VP of MCA for the previous sex scandal when Dr Chua was taped to have sex in a hotel. But why now sack him , after 18 months after the events. Many feel Dr Chua is punished twice for the same events. Many believe this is Ong method to distract people from the Port Klang issue and method to strength his hold on MCA head. Sacking the VP , will only split the MCA more.
On the Side of Ong Tee Keat. We must be clear that Ong is merely doing his job to investigate the PKFZ financial fiasco which is threatening to cast a dark cloud over the country. Without his commitment to dig deep into the issue, it would not have been possible for us to find out that there may be a potential breach of financial integrity which led to an over-billing of RM500mil to RM1bil.On the PKFZ, Ong has obviously risked it all.
Many of us may not agree with MCA’s insistence to continue working with some dubious politicians or the party’s lack of a clear stand on certain political issues. But we must not discount the fact that Ong’s good work to honour his commitment to account for the PKFZ fiasco is both admirable and commendable.
Will Ong survive in his own party? Will Ong survive in the next election?
Accusation against Ong Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club chairman Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing who owned KDSM the Kuala Dimension involved in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal is one of the 12 company alleged misuse of 1.5 billion claims.
Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing’s alleged RM10 million donation to Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat was handed over in three cash installments of RM5 million, RM1 million and RM4 million, the China Press as reported .
The Chinese-language daily said the details were obtained from a copy of the police report made by Tiong against Ong last week.
3 suitcase of money where handled to Ong' staff at Petaling Jaya Hilton Hotel and another one at Armada Hotel Petaling jaya.
Although he has denied taking RM10 million, Ong has admitted to taking free rides on private jets owned by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the company owned by Tiong.
KDSB was the company being probed in relation to the scandal-hit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) when Ong took rides on the company aircraft.
2 EGM ?
Ong is betting his political career on his own EGM and hopes to galvanise enough support to remain as party president even as he continues to come under siege from within and outside the MCA.
It is understood his EGM will have two main agendas — to justify his decision to sack Dr Chua and to garner support for his disclosures in the scandal-hit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
But supporters of Dr Chua are also currently collecting signatures to also call an EGM to remove him as party president, and they hope to convene their meeting in September.
The latest two-EGM scenario looks set to lead MCA on a path of self-destruction, with the party split down the middle.
Ong’s EGM gambit is fraught with risk.
With significant numbers in his party in an angry mood, the EGM could end badly for him, with a no-confidence vote against his leadership.
Ong is using the PKFZ issue as a confidence vote in his leadership.
But the PKFZ scandal has been the one issue which has seen him suffer major blows to his own credibility.
PKFZ contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd’s (KDSB) CEO Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing has alleged Ong took a RM10 million cash donation from him last year.
While Ong has filed a RM500 million suit against Tiong, his colleague in Barisan Nasional (BN), the latter has continued attacking Ong.
Ong’s supporters are claiming that Tiong’s attacks are a result of disclosures of wrongdoing by Ong’s Transport Ministry against KDSB in an ongoing probe on PKFZ.
The Dr Chua EGM seeks to reinstate him as deputy president and to pass a vote of no-confidence against Ong.
BN leaders, especially from Umno, are watching developments closely and are unhappy that Ong had pushed his party crisis to the brink by sacking Dr Chua.
Dr Chua was expelled from the party last week for tarnishing MCA’s image over a secretly recorded video of him in bed with his mistress that was distributed publicly in late 2007 by his political rivals.
He subsequently resigned from party posts and as a Cabinet minister, but last October he made a comeback to win the MCA deputy presidency.
Since then Ong had grown insecure and was uncomfortable with Dr Chua, with the two barely on speaking terms.
By dredging up the old sex scandal, Ong was hoping to remove Dr Chua from the scene even as he took on Tiong and KDSB.
But with Umno unhappy with his actions, Ong is now facing a fight for his political life.
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MCA president, Datuk Ong Tee Keat did not deny nor confirm speculations that the party will be holding an extraordinary general meeting or EGM soon to remove him as party president.
