KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 14, 2009): The special task force to look into the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project announced last week is redundant as the main issues have already been investigated by previous committees set up to examine the fiasco, PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said.
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Speaking to reporters at the party headquarters today, Mahfuz, who is MP for Pokok Sena, said the government should instead set up a Royal Commission (RC) to investigate the multi-billion ringgit scandal.
“There have been other committees set up such as the (earlier) Special Task Force, the Public Accounts Committee and the Audit Committee from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).
“The issues that will be probed in this super task force are similar to those already investigated by these committees, so why have a super task force?” he asked, accusing the government of setting up the task force to protect Umno and Barisan Nasional leaders who have been implicated in the scandal.
The high-powered task force announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak on Wednesday to look into the controversial PKFZ project will be headed by the Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan.
The task force will also be made up of the Treasury secretary-general, the Attorney-General, and officials from the Transport and Finance ministries who will investigate various issues, including the misappropriation of funds, abuse of power and good governance practices, and will also assess what can be done with the project to give value-for-money and cut operational costs.
“The issue on good governance has already been addressed in the findings of the Special Task Force set up in June and as far as value-for-money is concerned, it is not the government’s role to promote PKFZ. It should be done by the Port Klang Authority (PKA),” he said.
The 405-hectare PKFZ controversy arose after its development cost rose from RM2.5 billion to RM4.6 billion. Following the task force and audit committee’s report, Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, chairman of PKA, which owns the project, lodged a police report over billing discrepancies of between RM500 million and RM1 billion.
Mahfuz also criticised Najib for not setting a deadline for the new task force to report its findings to the cabinet.
“Najib has talked so much about Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) but this task force has no deadline. This shows Najib himself does not have his own KPIs,” said Mahfuz.
The PAS leader also urged the government to reveal how much has been spent for the PKFZ Special Task Force and the Audit Committee comprising accountants from PwC.
He also said a special sitting should be held in Parliament to explain why the government is not ready to set up an RC into the PKFZ fiasco.
Mahfuz also announced that he has instructed his lawyers to look into legal means that can be taken as an ordinary citizen to force the government to form an RC.
“As a taxpayer, I want to know what can be done to ensure this RC must be formed by the government because it seems to me like the government now is not listening to the public,” he added.
When asked if he planned to sue the government for not setting up the RC, Mahfuz said he is waiting for his legal team to advise him on the matter.-The Sun
