SHAH ALAM, 14 Jan: Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail has been urged to resign due to his decision to withdraw charges against the former Transport Minister, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, regarding the scandal of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ).
The Member of Parliament for Petaling Jaya Utara, Tony Pua, said that the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak should be serious in addressing issues involving financial mismanagement and abuse of power as commonly propagated in his administration.
Thus, Tony said, that now is the best time for Najib Razak to punish Gani for the Attorney-General’s incompetence in performing important duties.
“We want to know whether flimsy charges against them were deliberately imposed to prove that Najib is serious in tackling corruption within his administration.
“If Najib is serious in this matter, then he should not hesitate to sack the Attorney-General and replace Abdul Gani with someone competent and who could act without fear and favour,” he said in a press statement.
Tony (pictured left) said the release of the former minister brings up the question of who is responsible in the scandal involving the embezzlement of public funds, which is by far the most expensive.
He added that what is more baffling is that the case was fully investigated by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in 2009 and recommended that Chan be charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) for issuing three letters of guarantee on behalf of the government for the construction of the shipping hub, without the approval from the Finance Ministry.
Previously, the DAP Secretary-General, Lim Guan Eng, was disappointed and sad because of Chan’s release from the charge of the RM12.85 billion PKFZ scandal which proves that there is no leader responsible or punished for causing losses to public funds.
He said that before Chan, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik was also acquitted of the charge of cheating the Cabinet in the scandal on 25 October last year.
Chang was charged in February 2011 with cheating Abdullah over the RM1.9 billion trans-shipment project between 2004 and 2006, facing up to five years’ jail on each count. He may be sentenced to five years imprisonment if found guilty.
It was originally to have cost RM1.1 billion after inspired by Dr Ling in 1997, but the sum later grew to RM4.6 billion in 2007, before an audit by accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in 2008 showed that the total cost, including interest payments, was projected to hit RM12.5 billion.
