KUALA LUMPUR: Former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, who is facing charges of cheating the Malaysian government, agreed yesterday that the contents of a letter he had sent to former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) were false.
Dr Ling, 68, said the letter dated June 29, 2002 which was prepared by former deputy secretary-general of the Transport Ministry, Datuk Abdul Rahman Mohd Noor contained the interest rate and was based on the decision of a meeting held earlier.
He admitted to signing the letter without checking the contents because he trusted the officer involved.
In response to Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Datuk Tun Abdul Majid Tun Hamzah’s cross examination as to how come he did not question his officer before signing, Dr Ling responded: “If you do not trust (the officer) you’ll have a bundle of jobs to do everyday and never get started.
“Who said I never asked? They reported to me everyday.”
Dr Ling however denied that he had cheated Dr Mahathir and intentionally sent the letter despite knowing its contents were false.
According to DPP Tun Abdul Majid, the letter on the Pulau Indah land acquisition referred to the discussions with Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) on a willing buyer willing seller basis, which set the purchase price at a rate of RM25 per square feet (psf) and interest of 7.5 per cent per annum.
The letter also stated that the valuation was agreed upon by the Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH) and there was an attachment stating the total price of the 999.5 acre land at RM1.088 billion, he added.
Dr Ling, 68, is charged with cheating the government by not disclosing to the Cabinet an additional interest rate of 7.5 per cent per annum on the purchase price of the land for the PKFZ project, which had been fixed at RM1,088,456,000 by the Valuation and Property Services Department, based on RM25 psf, inclusive of the coupon/interest rates.
He also faces two alternative (amended) charges of cheating and intentionally not disclosing to the Cabinet, that the 7.5 per cent per annum was an additional interest rate on the land price of Lot 67894 based on RM25 psf.
He is alleged to have committed the offences on the fourth floor of the Prime Minister’s Office, Perdana Putra building, Putrajaya, between Sept 25 and Nov 6, 2002.
Earlier in today’s proceedings, Dr Ling told the court that his senior officer had a meeting with KDSB without his knowledge and he did not know the outcome.
He also said he did not know the actual price of the land as the matter was handled by the Finance Ministry.
Earlier in the trial, a JPPH officer had testified that the land valuation was at RM21 psf and 6 percent interest rate.
Questioned if he intentionally did not reveal the 7.5 percent interest rate and RM1.088 billion total to the cabinet, Dr Ling answered: “I don’t agree.”
He further stated that he was not aware of the issuance of any bond for the acquisition of the land and did not keep abreast of the matter as his job was just to ensure it was acquired as quickly as possible.
The trial resumes before Judge Datuk Ahmadi Asnawi today. — Bernama