Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Who are the PKFZ bondholders?



'Why should we pay the back taxes owed by KDSB? Get it from KDSB owner Tiong King Sing. PKA and the rakyat do not owe KDSB anything.'

PKFZ: 'Gov't will pay the RM700mil to bondholders'

Vincent: Billions of ringgit have gone to the pockets of the PKFZ bondholders. With this huge amount of money, the government could have built more schools in overcrowded areas and even hospitals to minimise the waiting period for those rakyat who are ill and are in urgent need of surgery. Satu lagi projeck BN untuk merugikan rakyat jelata.

Mikey: Can we know who the bondholders are and the amounts owed to each? Why should we pay the back taxes owed by Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB)? Get it from (KDSB owner) Tiong King Sing. PKA and the rakyat do not owe KDSB anything.

Cala: Three wrongs do not make one right. To my mind, the heart of the problem seems to centre on the issuance of the RM4.6 billion which KDSB raised and subsequently put into their already swollen pockets. Three things have gone terribly wrong:

i) It was wrong for KDSB to raise the funds through the bond market when the standard operating procedure was for the Treasury to do it;

ii) It was wrong for both (then transport ministers) Ling Liong Sik and Chan Kong Choy to sign the support letters that enabled KDSB to raise funding in the bond market; and

iii) It was wrong for the bond-agents (local and international) to proceed with the arrangement without checking on the limits of ministerial power in this respect.

To agree for the release of RM723 million to KDSB is indeed "the scam of the century" despite a legal battle going on in court between PKA and KDSB. If that happens, it just goes to show Dr Mahathir Mohamad's legacy is very much alive.

Pemerhati: The massive theft of the rakyat's money got going in a big way under Mahathir's premiership when all sorts of mega-projects were started simply because mega amounts of money could be siphoned off and stolen by top Umnoputras and their cronies in one go.

Pakatan Rakyat should make a list of all these projects and give an estimate of the billions that could have been stolen through these projects and various other means. These will have to be estimates because BN has enacted laws to keep this information secret so that the public does not become aware of this massive theft.

All Malaysians, especially those in the rural areas, should be informed of the huge amount of money stolen by the top BN people and their cronies, well before the next elections. If after knowing this, the people again vote in BN, then perhaps the country deserves to become another Zimbabwe or Burma.


PKA caught between the taxman and bondholders

Anonymous: The whole contract should be rendered void due to the blatant overcharging. Is there some sort of sick irony in one of those companies being called Valid Ventures Bhd? Sounds like a second-hand car dealer called Honest Joe's. Would you buy a car from a place with a name like that?

Kgen: The taxman can be stalled but not the bondholders. A default is a very serious matter in financial circles. The BN government can be sued as it has effectively guaranteed that KDSB can meet its financial obligations. Hence, the question of not releasing the money owed to KDSB does not arise.

KDSB has already taken the money from the bond market, so the taxpayers will have to keep footing the bill irrespective of KDSB being overpaid or for work not done.

PKA has no business paying income tax on behalf of KDSB using taxpayers' money. It amounts to allowing KDSB to profit from not paying taxes.

Longjaafar: I won't be surprised if the government pays both.


MCA must make a stand on PKFZ: Ong

Let truth out: Ong Tee Keat, it's time for you to reveal the truth as you're no more obligated to any party. Spill the beans.

I believe the public needs to know the truth. It would be a very galant effort if you shared the truth with us. I myself want the truth to be made known as we can't allow those people who stole the wealth of our nation to go unpunished.

Kenzo: I am extremely anti-BN due to all the corruption, mismanagement and injustices the coalition has done to us Malaysians over the 53 years they have been in power. However, if I was a voter in Pandan, I would surely vote for you, Ong Tee Keat, because you seem to be very unlike other BN leaders.

Please carry on fighting based on your principles and not personal gain, as you have been doing for a long time. Long live OTK!

Multi Racial: This is my perception and I believe the majority of Malaysians probably have the same view as well: Some previous and current BN leaders, including MCA politicians, were involved in the PKFZ scandal and were not happy with Ong Tee Keat exposing it. So they plan to get him out, which they were successful using Chua Soi Lek and Liow Tiong Lai.

As such, Chua and Liow who are obligated to those who help them will never pursue the PKFZ matter. If MCA were to make a stand, they would make one in line with what PM Najib Abdul Razak wants them to make.

Look at sport gambling: didn't MCA make fools of themselves supporting it while the majority of Malaysians rejected it? Instead of taking Ong's view as advice, MCA leaders probably planned on how to shut him out.

It looks like Ong has to speak to alternative news outlets so that we get to know more. Do disclose everything as it is your duty as an elected MP.

Delegate: "Ong, whose crusade for the truth in the high-profile case cost him his positions as party president and transport minister, said this very issue was a strong contributor to MCA's whitewash by the opposition in the 12th general election two years ago."

It's very malicious of Malaysiakini to imply this. Ong was voted out by the delegates (he got the least votes) because he does not have grassroots support. The delegates also wanted the truth behind the PKFZ. Him losing the party president post has nothing to do with the PKFZ case. Malaysiakini should apologise to the delegates.

Matrix: OTK didn't let much more than a whimper when lots of other issues (other than PKFZ) were raised while he was president. Now that he's no more president, he talks very boldly again, like before he became president.

He hasn't explained his unpaid bills using private jets (owned by KDSB's Tiong King Sing) satisfactorily either. Birds of a feather flock together. Whether it's CSL (Chua Soi Lek), OTK, Ong Ka Ting, they're all the same.


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