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Written by Kathy Fong, The Edge Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat revealed that he had received death threats that were meant to prevent him from releasing the PricewaterhouseCoopers’ audit report on Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.
In an interview with Sin Chew Daily, Ong said he would not hesitate to reliquish his post (as transport minister) if it were wrong for him to initiate the investigation into the PKFZ project and if such action were contrary to the political culture in Barisan Nasional and MCA. Certain parties, including persons with political and business interests, had attempted to stop him from making public the audit report, he told the Chinese daily. Ong said he had received threatening messages from underworld figures, saying: “If you’re wiped out from this world some day, you should know its reason!” He added that several forces had been collaborating to put him “under siege”. Ong noted that he had cleared many hurdles, including getting the cabinet’s consent, to release the audit report.
He said there was resistance to him initiating the probe into the PKFZ scandal but he insisted on pursuing the matter due to the large amount of money involved. “I believe the massive loans should not be passed down to our descendants,” he said. Ong admitted that the PKFZ case was the poison that had led to the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) and MCA’s poor showing in the last general election. “Since we could not erase the incident from the people’s minds by evading the issue, why not conduct a thorough investigation and show the truth to the public?” he said. Ong believes the PKFZ issue has unnerved MCA politically, making it susceptible to infiltration by people with vested business interests, who even vowed to topple him. The MCA chief said there were accusations that he had his own agenda in starting the investigation and that the probe was never endorsed by BN nor the cabinet and, therefore, not sanctioned by the government.
“All the things I have done so far have been carried out according to procedures. I’m doing all these not to please anyone, or to bank on any external force to strengthen my leadership. “I believe that the truth must be revealed and the solution should be sought in order to remove the gloom over PKFZ,” said Ong.
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