Dwarfed by the colossal 1MDB scandal in 2015 by the quantum and the personalities involved, another multi-billion-ringgit scandal appears dormant and consigned to the history books.
It does not mean something like this can be brushed aside although the protagonists were identified and named but never held responsible and accountable.
A voluminous report commissioned by then transport minister Ong Tee Keat and produced by PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) pointed out every commission and omission in what was supposed to be a replica of the Jebel Ali Free Zone in Dubai.
The long list of administrative wrongdoings was overshadowed by blatant deception and forgery - and even the unauthorised use of the seal of the Port Klang Authority (PKA) to legalise rotten deals.
The Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) stands out as a monument of shame which could only be described as inefficiency and incompetence at best and deception and thievery at worst in the name of nation-building and development.
When bad people make bad mistakes with little supervision and no one to account for, the result turns out to be disastrous.
1MDB vs PKFZ
It has been 15 years since the tumultuous happenings culminated into what was then the biggest financial scandal at that time - only to be overshadowed by Low Taek Jho (Jho Low) et al who have been estimated to have fingered five times more.
In the case of the 1MDB, the money has been traced, the perpetrators have been identified and recovery is being made.
However, in the case of PKFZ, the money simply desaparecí - disappeared - into thin air and the wrongdoers walked free to enjoy the fruits of their criminal conduct.
At one time, the police seized a private jet belonging to one of the directors of the turnkey contractors. Maybe it was a ploy by the police to indicate they meant business, but in the end, nothing happened.
There was some success so to speak when in 2018, the Shah Alam High Court held PKA’s former general manager OC Phang culpable for financial losses incurred in the development of the PKFZ.
The court also concluded that Phang owed a duty of care to PKA that was not absolved by way of her claim that she had acted on unilateral orders from the then ministers of finance and transport.
Before the damages could be assessed, she was declared bankrupt and is now said to be cooling her heels in Vancouver, Canada.
The PKFZ is up and running - getting returns of an average of RM60 million annually (from 2014 to 2022) against the cost - a whopping RM12.45 billion is not a prudent investment by any standards.
The self-glorifying announcements from both PKA and PKFZ may create a syiok sendiri (self-centred) feeling but hardly touched on the return on investment and the huge amounts paid by the owner - PKA - which is thumping out RM220 annually as repayment of the bonds related to the project.
Neither PKFZ nor PKA saw a cent of the money and yet are compelled to make quarterly payments of RM55 million to the Treasury which had advanced funds to redeem the bonds.
Payments will continue until 2051 – another 26 years by which time depreciation and deterioration would have taken place and the book value of some of its assets would have been written down to zero.
If ever an epitaph is built, the inscription should read: “This is the symbol of the corrupt and criminal activities, condoned by equally inept authorities which have cost Malaysians RM14.52 billion.”
Reminder to PM and cabinet
Why resurrect the dead and buried?
First, it should be raised regularly so that Malaysians are constantly reminded of their contribution as taxpayers to fill this multi-billion-ringgit hole.
Imagine how many universities and specialist medical centres could have been built with this humongous amount to serve the people.
Instead, we as taxpayers are repaying the money, that a handful stole to continue to enjoy riding in their Aston Martins and Bentleys and live in mansions surrounded by golf courses.
Secondly and more importantly, this should serve as a relentless reminder to the prime minister and his cabinet that the right people - who have the knowledge, skills, and experience - be appointed to boards of statutory bodies.
No disrespect to their professions but among those who previously sat as PKA directors was a vernacular schoolteacher and a forklift driver. Their only qualification was being a loyal crony - rewarded by their political masters.
PKR information chief Fahmi Fadzil, who is also communications minister said he would bring to the cabinet the people’s demands for more clarity over such appointments.
Responding to Sangetha Jayakumar’s appointment to the PKA board, he said: “I think there can be greater clarity in principle. What we can do is encourage ministers to make sure these appointments are done transparently and the public is made aware.”
Really? Look around you and look at the headlines made by statutory bodies for all the wrong reasons. The people had bailed out many such organisations which have been rife with financial irregularities.
To argue that putting politicians in statutory bodies causes no harm is a fallacy and we do not seem to want to learn from experience.
If the right people are not put in such places, they will be out with begging bowls for yet another round of rescue missions. - Mkini
R NADESWARAN says that if simple steps had been taken by instituting good governance practices and appointing knowledgeable people, many statutory bodies would not be in the financial mess they are in right now. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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