Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had given the green-light to the Transport Ministry to re-negotiate the terms of purchasing the 405ha piece of land in Pulau Indah for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project from landowner Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the High Court was told.
Former Transport Ministry planning division's deputy secretary-general Abdul Rahman Noor, 63, testified Monday that Dr Mahathir had agreed to a re-negotiation in a letter dated April 8, 2002.
Abdul Rahman said this was in response to a letter written by former Transport Minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik addressed to the former premier on April 3.
He said this when questioned by deputy public prosecutor Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Hamzah.
In the letter, Dr Ling had urged Dr Mahathir to reconsider purchasing the land directly from KSDB, on the condition that the purchase price should be re-negotiated based on the valuation made by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH).
Dr Ling had also suggested for KDSB to be awarded the PKFZ development contract, with the development cost to also be negotiated between the Government and KDSB.
If the suggestion was approved, the Transport Ministry or Port Klang Authority (PKA) was to handle the negotiations, with the outcome submitted to the Treasury for approval before an official offer was made to KDSB.
“The (former) Prime Minister had agreed with the (then) Transport Minister on a willing buyer-willing seller proposition,” Abdul Rahman said.
He added that in a meeting on April 12, 2002, with KDSB chief executive officer Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing and PKA general manager Datin O.C. Phang, he had informed them of the Prime Minister's decision to re-negotiate, but Tiong was not agreeable as he wanted the revised terms made with PKA on Dec 26, 2001, to stand.
It was previously reported that the revised terms included the sale at RM25psf (at special valuation) with a 10% deposit, and a yearly 7.5% interest rate for 15 years.
JPPH deputy director-general Datuk Mani Usilappan had testified earlier that a RM25psf price consideration could be used when read together with the 10-year repayment period with a yearly 6% interest and a 5% deposit.
However, Abdul Rahman also told the court that on Oct 2, 2002, the Cabinet had decided to postpone its decision to purchase the 405ha-land following objections from the Finance Ministry.
“The Treasury still held the decision that the land should be obtained via land acquisition (at RM10.16psf),” he said.
Dr Ling has claimed trial to an amended principal charge of deceiving the Government by not exposing to the Cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5% annually for the purchase of land for the PKFZ project.
He faces two optional charges of cheating the Government by not exposing to the Cabinet facts pertaining to the interest rate, and deceiving it into believing that facts on the land purchase at RM25psf and 7.5% interest rate were certified and agreed to, by the Finance Ministry's Valuation and Property Services Department when he knew there was no such consent.
He is said to have committed the offences at the Prime Minister's office in Putrajaya between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.
Hearing continues Tuesday.
Source : The Star
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