Dr M stumps PKFZ prosecutors with 'Ling did not cheat me': GE13 SHADOW PLAY?

Government prosecutors in the RM12.5bil PKFZ trial were stumped when former premier Mahathir Mohamd appeared to back former Transport minister Ling Liong Sik's claim that he had not cheated the Cabinet, and therefore was not guilty of the charges pressed by the current administration.

"As far as I can remember, no Cabinet member objected to (the cost) of the project," Mahathir said in the High Court in Kuala Lumpur today.

The 87-year-old Mahathir, who ruled Malaysia with a fist of iron, was the centre of attention on Monday. Known for his penchant for the limelight, Mahathir did not disappoint.

He startled the courtroom when he disclosed that he had already told the police that he had not been cheated. He even recounted how one of the officers who recorded his statement had remarked that if they had known that, they would not have charged Ling. It now remains how Prime Minister Najib Razak's government will proceed with the trial.

Not a credible leader or witness

Meanwhile, attention-grabbing though Mahathir's testimony was, not all were impressed.

"This is deja-vu. Remember Sept 1, 1998, when Mahathir said Anwar Ibrahim's black eye was self-inflicted? That shows Mahathir is not a credible leader, what more a credible witness.," PKR MP for Gopeng Lee Boon Chye told Malaysia Chronicle.

"We should demand full disclosure of the Cabinet papers on PKFZ as RM12.5bil of the people's money was involved. This is the largest scandal in Malaysian history involving the apex of power and the most amount of money. We must not allow Umno-BN to sensationalize and create a circus to lead us round and round until the key issues are forgotten. And their top leaders escape scot-free from all the corruption misdeeds."

Political play ahead of GE-13?

Mahathir is the fourth defence witness in Ling's cheating trial. The former premier's U-turn is likely to spark an avalanche of new conspiracy theories about the Port Klang Free Zone debacle.

"We have always maintained that the Ling trial was an eyewash for Umno-BN, a valve for Najib to release the pressure from top Umno leaders involved. Umno blamed Tee Keat because he was the MCA president and insisted on making public the Pricewaterhouse audit on PKFZ. When the public clamoring for action grew too strong, Najib and Umno punished the MCA leaders like Ling and Chan Kong Choy," PKR vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

"But PKFZ is a BN project involving not just MCA but also other BN leaders. There is no way so much money can be lost without all of them including Umno and MCA agreeing and co-ordinating with each other. We also have always expected Ling would somehow 'escape'. Maybe this is his cue. Mahathir gets to play the hero and redeem some credit from the Chinese community which now really despises him, while Najib gets to soothe back some of the ruffled Chinese feathers before GE-13."

The 69-year-old former transport minister is charged under Section 417 and 418 of the Penal Code for deceiving the Cabinet by withholding details of the terms and conditions agreed between Land owners Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd and the Port Klang Authority.

An ex-MCA president, Ling is also charged with deliberately concealing the actual price of the land, which was valued at RM21 psf by JPPH, and for failing to reveal an interest of 7.5% per year over and above the price of the land at RM25 psf.

Ling had last week announced plans to call all 3 prime ministers to testify. Apart from Mahathir, the premiers involved Abdullah Badawi who was PM from 2003 to 2009 and current Prime Minister Najib Razak.

Malaysia Chronicle