MCA, Ong Tee Keat corruption revealed by Tiong King Sing and Vice Versa

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing is standing firm in the face of an impending lawsuit from Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat.

And, he has raised the ante in the quarrel by challenging the transport minister to reveal his bank assets to the public, on top of other allegations about donations and free jet rides.

The feisty Tiong’s company Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) is under investigation by Ong’s ministry for its involvement in the scandal hit Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).

Yesterday, he questioned the amount of money that the minister and his wife have deposited in their bank accounts and said that “I urge the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate” but stopped short of saying he would lodge a report with the MACC.

“Everybody is talking about integrity and transparency. You can calculate how much you can make as a minister and as a member of parliament, and see if the amounts match,” he told The Malaysian Insider when contacted yesterday.

The federal lawmaker from the Sarawak Progressive Democratic Party also claimed a hidden agenda in the ongoing probe into the PKFZ project and alleged that Ong was out to end his political career.

“I called the person who got the order (to kill Tiong’s political career) from Ong and I confirmed it,” he said and added he was willing to tell the media the person’s name if Ong denied the allegation.

The clash between the two men emerged after a special task force probing PKFZ asserted last week that KDSB, of which Tiong is the CEO and major shareholder, had made at least RM500 million in questionable claims, following which Port Klang Authority chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng lodged a police report against KDSB.

Since then, Tiong has made the stunning claim that he had made a RM10 million donation to Ong last year, ostensibly for MCA party purposes.

Ong, who is also known to possess a combative streak, has denied this and confirmed yesterday that he would be taking legal action to clear his name.

The transport minister, who has cultivated an image of being clean and transparent, and won some praise for pushing for PKFZ to be investigated, has seen his reputation take a hit as a result of Tiong’s allegations, and claims that Tiong’s accusations are an attempt to divert attention from the PKFZ issue.

Tiong however, says that the transport minister can “go ahead and investigate (PKFZ),” but still insists that Ong had received a multi-million ringgit donation from him.

“I can sit down with him and show him where he took the money,” says Tiong.

KDSB has been unhappy about a perceived bias from the special task force and Lee has responded to the allegations by saying that a letter was sent to KDSB during the task force’s investigations but it met with no response.

When asked about this, Tiong says that no letter was received, saying: “I don’t know where they sent the letter to.”

He also questioned Ong and Lee’s understanding of the PKFZ project.

“How can Lee lodge a police report when the board is still going through the findings of the task force report?” asked Tiong, referring to the fact that the police report was filed last week but the PKA board was still reviewing the task force report on Tuesday.

Officials from Bukit Aman’s Commercial Crime department began their investigations last Friday and have also taken Lee’s statement.

Malaysiakini

21/08/09