Another update on the current crisis related to the PKFZ scandal. Chairman of Port Klang Authority (PKA) Datuk Lee Hwa Beng has filed a suit against Port Klang Free Trade Zone (PKFZ) turnkey developer Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd disputing the computation of interest that may go as high as RM720mil at the Shah Alam High Court registry.
Lee said that PKA was disputing the imposition of interest in the PKFZ land purchase as well as the wrong computation of interest that might have arisen.
The total sum in dispute might be as high as RM720mil, he said on the PKFZ website.
In the legal suit, PKA is seeking a declaration that the interest charged on the balance purchase price of the land was wrongly imposed.
KDSB had sold the land to PKA at RM1.088bil or RM per sq ft on a “special value” basis.
The balance purchase price was to be paid by PKA on a deferred payment basis.
“The special valuation of RM25 per sq ft had taken into consideration the interest element.
“Interest ought not to have been charged separately and/or in addition to the said RM25 per sq ft.
“PKA is, therefore, also seeking a rectification of the computation of the schedule of payment of the balance of purchase price to exclude interest and a refund from KDSB of the interest payment made by PKA thus far.
“PKA also contends that even if interest were to be allowed by the court, it had been computed on the wrong basis, which requires rectification of the schedule of payment of the balance purchase price.
PKA would also file other suits in relation to the fraudulent and/or wrongful and/or irregular claims as well as make official complaints to the various professional bodies in relation to the conflict of interest and professional negligence of the consultants involved, he said.
“The legal action taken today and in the days to come were approved by the PKA Board in the sitting on Aug 18.
“These actions are among the civil remedies that PKA, being a party to, will have to take in pursuant of its legal rights,” Lee said.
This decision to take legal action was made before the setting up of the new task force chaired by the Chief Secretary to the Government and did not overlap areas in which the new task force was looking into, he said.
Related posts:
* Kuala Dimensi bank account frozen
* PKFZ scandal masterminds
* Truth about PKFZ blog
Police have ordered a bank to freeze about RM140mil in the account of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, the turnkey developer of the controversial Port Klang Free Zone project.
It is learnt that Commercial Crimes Investigations Department (CCID) officers have asked the bank to freeze the account as the money is believed to have been derived from the Port Klang Free Zone project.
Sources said the CCID officers were also believed to have traced several hundreds of millions more in another account and were making arrangements to freeze that account too.
It is learnt that the CCID officers invoked Section 44 of the Anti-Money Laundering Act to freeze the account pending investigations.
Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan also briefed Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the PKFZ investigations yesterday.
Police investigations were initiated following a report lodged by Port Klang Authority (PKA) chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng.
“We are going through all documents pertaining to the project to ascertain if there are any shoddy dealings or misappropriation of funds or any other criminal offence.
“A special task force has been set up specifically to investigate the matter, and we need time to go through every document,” he said.
Musa said his officers would be calling up the parties involved.
He urged those to be called up to cooperate to ensure a speedy investigation as it was of public interest.
Meanwhile, Deputy CEO of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd Datuk Faizal Haji Abdullah said in a statement: “KDSB (Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd ) confirms that several of its accounts have been frozen. The accounts were frozen late yesterday afternoon.
“We regard this as part of the investigation process and we are giving our fullest cooperation to the police. In the meantime, KDSB is taking advice on the legality of the freezing orders.”
A task force, set up by the Transport Ministry had on June 10, found possible fraud, including overcharging and unsubstantiated claims running into hundreds of millions of ringgit by Kuala Dimensi.
The eventual amount in dispute could run up to as much as RM1bil.
Kuala Dimensi chief executive officer is Bintulu MP Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, is treasurer-general of the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party. Kuala Dimensi’s deputy chief executive officer is Datuk Faisal Abdullah.
The task force comprised Skrine partner Lim Chee Wee and PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory Services’ managing director Chin Kwai Fatt, and senior executive director Lim San Peen.
PKA chairman Lee Hwa Beng lodged two reports – one with the police and the other with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) – upon receiving the 370-page report with 2,500 appendices from the task force.
Lee in his report said the task force had found that Kuala Dimensi had:
> POSSIBLY made fraudulent claims on electrical infrastructure worth RM55.8mil, which had yet to be carried out on the site, and 33kv supply works and civil infrastructure works worth RM83mil, as TNB had rejected the proposal for Kuala Dimensi to undertake the work;
> NOT provided any document to support its claim of at least RM231mil as preliminaries under the development agreements, besides making claims for items it was not contractually entitled to, such as procurement of a performance bond and payment for insurance premiums totalling RM5mil;
> NOT justified its claim for variation works of RM62mil under Additional Development Works and New Additional Development Works agreements;
> APPEARED to have made an “over claim” for hotel works for which Kuala Dimensi had claimed RM69.6mil compared to the quantity surveyor’s valuation of RM44.7mil.
> NOT produced any invoice or payment voucher for the RM61mil which the company claimed was professional fees and expenses incurred; and
> CLAIMED RM254.9mil as extra work done even though the purported revised works fell within the scope of the original works envisaged in the main development agreement.
Related posts:
* PKFZ scandal masterminds
* Truth about PKFZ blog
Malaysia take its first delivery of a submarine and named it KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, after the first prime minister. The submarine will be used to protect Malaysia's water against possible attack by US, China and Thailand navies. That is just a possibility but the fact remain that Malaysia cannot even stop illegal immigrants landing at it local beaches.
The Royal Malaysian Navy’s first submarine, KD Tunku Abdul Rahman, arrived at KD Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah, the naval base in Pulau Indah here on Thursday.
The Scorpene submarine, with 32 officers and crew members on board led by commanding officer Zulhelmey Ithnain, reached the jetty at 9.20am.
As the surfacing submarine, pulled by two tugboats, approached the jetty, some of its crew members were seen waving at the waiting crowd.
Present to witness the submarine’s arrival were Yang DiPertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, RMN captain-in-chief the Sultan of Selangor Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, and Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Also present to welcome its arrival were the Malaysian Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Azizan Ariffin, RMN chief Admiral Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Jaafar, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan, foreign military officials and family members of the submarine crew.
The dignitaries were then taken into the nation’s first submarine for a visit, after which Tuanku Mizan launched commemorative stamps and first-day covers in conjunction with the submarine’s arrival in the country.
The stamps and first-day covers were issued by Pos Malaysia Bhd in collaboration with the RMN.
The KD Tunku Abdul Rahman commemorative stamps are sold at 30sen and 50sen each, and a complete set of the stamps and first-day covers are available for RM33.10 at all post offices.
KD Tunku Abdul Rahman sailed from Toulon, France on July 11 and took 54 days to reach Port Klang, making stops at Jeddah, Djibouti and Cochin on the journey, which included 32 days of submersion and 10 days of surfacing.
It is one of two Scorpene submarines acquired by the Malaysian government to strengthen the RMN.
Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chief executive officer and managing director Datuk Seri Idris Jala has been appointed a Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department. Idris Jala, the first Orang Ulu to be appointed a minister in the federal cabinet, was also appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to implement the government’s Key Performance Index (KPI) initiatives.
The Sarawakian, who will also assume the deputy chairmanship of Pemandu board, will be responsible for specific sub N-KRAs and National KPIs (N-KPIs) and advise on Ministerial-KRAs (M-KRAs) and M-KPIs.
He will report to Koh on matters relating to KPIs and directly to the Prime Minister on other duties to be assigned to him as Minister Without Portfolio in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Idris will not hold a portfolio in the PM’s Department but will be the chief executive officer of the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu, the organisation that oversees the implementation of the Key Performance Index initiatives.)
“Idris will complement, support and report to Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of National Unity and Performance Management,” said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in a statement yesterday.
Najib, who informed the Cabinet of the appointment at the Cabinet KPI Workshop in Putrajaya yesterday, said the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin has consented to the appointment.
Idris will be sworn in as a senator at a later date.
“Dr Koh continues with his task of formulating and executing the overall policy and strategy on performance management and organisational transformation with special focus on National Key Results Area (N-KRA).
He will be the chairman of the Pemandu Board which includes the Chief Secretary to the Government and other senior officers.
“Idris, who will also assume the deputy chairmanship of the Pemandu Board, will be responsible for specific N-KRAs and National KPIs (N-KPIs) and advise on Ministerial-KRAs (M-KRAs) and M-KPIs.
“He will focus on sharing his expertise and experience in Shell and MAS and driving implementation of performance management in the Federal Government,” said Najib.
He added that Idris would report to Dr Koh on matters relating to KPIs and directly to the Prime Minister on other duties assigned to him as a minister.
The board of Malaysia Airlines will announce separately Idris’ replacement.
Idris was appointed chief executive officer and managing director of MAS in December 2005, in the aftermath of the company’s biggest financial loss in its corporate history.
Prior to joining MAS, Idris spent 23 years at Shell. Between 2002 and 2005, he was Shell MDS (Malaysia) managing director and Shell Malaysia Gas & Power (Malaysia) vice-president.
Between 2000 and 2002, Idris was Shell International Retail Marketing vice-president based in London.
He was also vice-president (business development consultancy) where he led a team of top notch internal consultants on radical business improvement projects and revamped the Shell global retail business model in order to achieve profitable growth.
Between 1998 and 2000, Idris was Shell Sri Lanka managing director where he helped shape the turnaround of Shell’s LPG business in Sri Lanka.
He holds a bachelor’s degree from Universiti Sains Malaysia and a masters degree from Warwick University, Britain.
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* Idris Jala barely pass the test
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* Idris Jala bagged strategist award
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It was reported that the following people are possibly behind the Port Klang Free Zone scandal:
1. O.C Phang, former PKA GM
2. Kuala Dimensi President
3. Tiong King Sing, Kuala Dimensi CEO
4. Bernard Tan PKFZ development works consultant
5. BTA Architect
PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng revealed Wednesday the possibility of a conspiracy among five parties, including former Port Klang Authority general manager over the Port Klang Free Zone scandal.
Besides former PKA general manager Datin Paduka O.C. Phang, Lee said those involved in the conspiracy were Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, its president and CEO Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, BTA Architect and PKFZ development works consultant Bernard Tan Seng Swee.
Lee said various parties had also made disputed claims from the PKFZ project amounting to about RM1.5bil.
This was revealed in his report which he lodged with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) at the commission’s headquarters here Wednesday.
More big names are being implicated and new allegations made concerning the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal in a newly-launched blog. The blog www.truthabout-pkfz.blogspot.com was set up by a group describing themselves as “non-partisan Malaysians disgusted with the wrongdoings of corrupt businessmen, politicians and civil servants.”
Unnamed writers of the blog have made allegations regarding the issue, ranging from gangsterism involving a prominent businessman-politician to the purported involvement of several other politicians.
The blog said those involved had links with Selangor bigshots and that Kuala Dimensi had bought the land cheaply from Koperasi Pembangunan Pulau Lumut Berhad (KPPL).
The report also claimed that Tan Sri Onn Ismail, who was then with KPPL, was the father-in-law of Kuala Dimensi deputy CEO Datuk Faisal Abdullah and that a part of the 202ha land of was bought for only RM3.1mil.
Kuala Dimensi eventually sold some 404ha of land to Port Klang Authority (PKA) for a whopping RM1.088bil.
There were also allegations of PKA staff being bullied by their superior and the hurried manner in which they were told to pursue matters relating to the purchase of the land even at a high price.
The writer of the blog posting who questioned the astronomical price paid for the land at RM25 psf said sarcastically that it took him two weeks to deliberate on all aspects before purchasing his car although it cost only RM45,000.
Other interesting revelations in the blog include the question of ownership of land at the time of sale in 2002 by Kuala Dimensi.
The writer claimed that Kuala Dimensi had on Nov 24, 1997, sold 305ha of the land to Great Profile Sdn Bhd and questioned how it was possible for the company to effect the land transaction with PKA if the land was not its.
The group managing the blog also appealed to those who could substantiate the allegations to forward their views.
On Aug 11, PKA lodged a police report against Kuala Dimensi, the turnkey contractor of PKFZ over alleged billing discrepancies ranging between RM500mil and RM1bil.
The discrepancies were uncovered by a special task force set up following the audit report on PKFZ by PricewaterhouseCoopers.
It discovered that Kuala Dimensi had possibly, among others, overclaimed and made fraudulent and unsubstantiated claims.
Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) posted a net loss of RM1.12bil for its fourth quarter ended June 30 against a net profit of RM703.2mil for the same period last year after setting aside provisions for bad debts and writing down value of its overseas investments.
It wrote down RM1.97bil in impairment charges on its investments in Pakistan and Indonesia.
Loss per share for the period was 17.62 sen against earnings per share of 14.41 sen. The banking group proposed a final dividend of 8 sen per share less tax 25%.
Despite the impairment charges, the group remained profitable for the full year ended June 30 with a net profit of RM691.9mil.
By-Election Result 2009 for Permatang Pasir constituency.
PAS’s Mohd Salleh Man has won the Permatang Pasir state vote here in Penang by a big majority of 4,551 votes.
Official results show Mohd Salleh polled 9,618 votes while Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Rohaizat Othman received 5,067 votes.
The win for PAS was widely expected as the seat is within Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s Permatang Pauh parliamentary stronghold.
PAS’s handsome win also appears to indicate that in PR’s own backyard, they are unbeatable.
The win also comes despite Umno’s attempt to portray Anwar as a traitor to the Malays, while simultaneously playing the race and religion card.
Today’s turnout was 73.1 per cent compared to last year’s 82.57 per cent.
11:45am: Voter turn-out as of 11am is 38.9%.
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