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| PAC on PKFZ Former sec-gen not aware of Chan’s letters |
| Written by Sharon Tan | |||
| Thursday, 05 November 2009 11:14 | |||
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Zaharah, who was the secretary-general of the ministry from June 1999 to July 2005, said she was given the first letter by the then minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik to vet through to ensure that the ministry and government were not caught by any financial implications. She told the PAC that although Chan’s first letter was dated 2004, she was unaware of its existence even though she was still attached to the ministry then. “I was told by the ministry that other officers also did not know the existence of the letters. Many decisions are made at the minister’s level and sometimes I am told, sometimes I am not told,” she said. Zaharah also told the PAC that the decision to purchase the land in principle was made by the government before she was made the secretary-general of the ministry. She said it was Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) that offered to sell the land. “Before I came in as the secretary-general, the agreement was already made. It was finalised when I came,” she said, adding that the portion of the land offered at that time was half of the 1,000 acres but subsequently KDSB offered the other half. She also said the PKFZ issue was not discussed in the ministry’s post-cabinet meeting in detail but was mentioned from time to time, including decisions that had been made by the government. Zaharah explained that she was of the opinion that the government should acquire the land through the National Land Acquisition Act. She also found that KDSB’s asking price was steep and ought to be vetted as it was much higher than what was valued by the government. She added that it was also contrary to practice that the same party sold and developed the land. “Even if the company wants to be involved in the development, there must be an open tender. And if it is to be on a negotiated tender basis, according to my experience in the Treasury, we must have the cabinet’s or finance minister’s approval,” she added. She also testified that the land acquisition fell through when the Selangor government did not agree to it. This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, November 5, 2009.
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