Lim: Charges against Ling a first step
July 30, 2010
Lim doubted that Ling alone could have masterminded the entire PKFZ scandal. — file pic
BAYAN LEPAS, July 30 — Lim Guan Eng today said the charges filed against former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik over the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal was “a step forward.”
However, the Penang chief minister said he did not believe that Ling should be the only person to be blamed for the beleaguered port project’s cost, which could balloon to as much as RM12.5 billion.
“How can one person mastermind the whole thing?” he asked.
“I think there must be others who are also behind this serious scandal,” he told reporters after a launch ceremony here.
The DAP secretary-general urged authorities to cast a wider net, saying that charging Dr Ling must not be the “only step in getting to the root of the scandal”.
“We hope for more steps to be taken because one swallow doesn’t make a summer. We want to see more people charged. I think that’s what the majority of Malaysians want to see as well,” he added.
“There must be a genuine report to get to the bottom of this matter,” he added.
Dr Ling was charged yesterday for cheating the government by misleading the Cabinet on the land acquisition for the PKFZ project in Klang.
The charges concern land valuations under the penal code with the principle charge under Section 418, with the alternative charge under Section 417.
He faces up to seven years in jail for the first charge and up to five years’ imprisonment under the alternative charge. Both carry a fine.He pleaded not guilty and was later granted a RM1 million bail by Judge Suzana Hussin with one surety.
Dr Ling is the fifth and the highest ranking person to be charged in relation to the PKFZ scandal.
Late last year, former PKA general manager Datin Paduka OC Phang and three others were charged with criminal breach of trust (CBT) and cheating by making false claims.
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