PAC deputy chairman Dr Tan Seng Giaw told reporters the PAC had set two days to enable PKA officials to shed light on the fiasco.

PKA chairman Datuk Lee Hwa Beng, Transport Ministry secretary-general Datuk Zakaria Bahari, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) managing partner Chin Kwai Fatt and senior partner Lim San Pen, and four senior staff of PKA faced the PAC today.

“We want to know who had decided to ignore the Attorney-General’s recommendation that the land in Pulau Indah (where the project is located) should be acquired by the government,” Tan told reporters after meeting PKA officials at Parliament lobby here.

He said this was because the government could invoke Section 4 of the Land Acquisition Act 1960 to prevent price speculation before taking over the land.

“We want to know who had decided not to impose Section 4 of the Act,” he said.

The PKA had Ion May 28 released the long-awaited PwC report on the PKFZ, which among others, detailed how the project cost had jumped to RM7.453 billion, including interest cost, from just RM1.957 billion in 2001.

PKA bought the land outright at a price of RM25 per sq ft on the basis that the land was of special value but the Valuation and Property Services Department had in August 2001 placed a value of RM10.16 psf on the basis of compulsory acquisition.

Tan said at the meeting which lasted more than two hours, the PAC wanted to know why Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the Dubai-based company, which was contracted to managed the PKFZ, abruptly abandoned it on July 18, 2007.

The meeting continues today where the PAC is likely to ask for explanation from the same individuals. Tan did not discount the possibility that PAC will call several other individuals, including the AG.

Promising to start with his own ministry, Ong, who is also MCA president, said that all ministries under the purview of MCA ministers had also been instructed to do the same.

There are four ministries — Transport, Health, Local Goverment and Housing and Tourism — headed ministers from the MCA.

“At the Road Transport Department(JPJ), I have set up special panels to revisit certain practices being used at the JPJ now which are not people-friendly.

“I promise it will be a very comprehensive study to see how we can improve our efficiency in serving the general public,” he said at the opening of the MCA ICT Resource Centre Micro Financing Expo here.

Part of the relook at the practices of the JPJ would be on driving tests.

On another matter, Ong he said that the audit report on the Port Klang Free Trade Zone(PKFZ) done by the audit firm, Price Waterhouse Coopers, was ready to be made public.

“There is nothing to hide and there has been no interference whatsoever in compiling the report. The report, which is as thick as a telephone directory, if not thicker, will be submitted to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Public Accounts Committee,” he said.

“I intend to do it because we want to move ahead, and not by wrestling with the issue raised which might not be based on facts.

“There were many text messages on the PKFZ issue, which might not give the true picture.

“The rakyat has a right to know the truth,” he said in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.

Ong was asked to comment on negative reports about the PKFZ.

He said as a new minister, he was interested in finding out the actual situation on PKFZ as the opposition used the issue as a weapon to claim the government was not transparent.

Pengerusi PAC, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, berkata pihaknya mahukan penjelasan kerana pada akhirnya keputusan adalah untuk membeli dan bukan untuk pengambilalihan (acquisition) tanah itu.

“Jadi keputusan atau pilihan membeli tanah itu berasaskan kepada ‘willing buyer, willing seller’ berbanding mengambil alih tanah itu berasaskan pendapat undang-undang.

“Kita nak penjelasan daripada Peguam Negara kerana akhirnya keputusan adalah untuk membeli dan menolak pilihan satu lagi iaitu untuk acquire atau untuk mengambil alih. Jadi di sini mungkin letaknya perbezaan nilainya (tanah),” katanya selepas sesi mendapatkan penerangan mengenai isu itu di Bangunan Parlimen, di sini semalam.

Shahrir berkata, PAC dijangka berjumpa Peguam Negara selepas Ramadan.

Kontroversi mengenai PKFZ yang kini diuruskan Lembaga Pelabuhan Klang (PKA) timbul berikutan laporan bahawa kos menubuhkan PKFZ meningkat daripada jumlah asal RM1.1 bilion kepada RM4.7 bilion dan kerajaan memberikan pinjaman mudah yang perlu dibayar balik dalam tempoh tujuh tahun kepada PKA.

Ketika keputusan ingin diambil, pejabat Peguam Negara mencadangkan tanah itu diambil alih mengikut Akta Pengambilalihan Tanah (Land Acquisition Act) tetapi cadangan itu tidak dipersetujui pihak terbabit.

Pengerusi barunya, Datuk Chor Chee Heung, minat ditunjukkan terhadap Zon Bebas Pelabuhan Klang (PKFZ) sangat baik dan menerima kadar tempahan perniagaan hampir 20 peratus walaupun mula dilancarkan tahun lalu.

“Kami belum mendapat kelulusan tetapi diharapkan mendapat sesuatu petunjuk menjelang akhir tahun ini.

“Kami sedang berunding dengan kerajaan, terutama sekali Lembaga Pembangunan Perindustrian Malaysia (Mida) untuk mewujudkan sebuah lembaga sehenti meliputi pelbagai agensi dalam kerajaan yang mengeluarkan kelulusan,” katanya di majlis perasmian restoran Awana Beijing yang dimiliki sebahagiannya oleh Pempena Sdn Bhd, anak syarikat milik penuh Tourism Malaysia di Beijing, China, baru-baru ini.

He said companies supplying products for offshore operations in the region will save more in terms of time, cost as well as port facilitation process should they operate out of PKFZ, which is owned and developed by the Port Klang Authority.

“The oil and gas industry is still considered untapped in the Asia Pacific, and we want to take advantage of that by having overseas companies operating in the region through us,” he said on the sidelines of Malaysia’s trade mission to the US.

The mission, led by International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, began on April 8 in Miami, Florida, before going to Minneapolis in Minnesota. San Jose in California is the final stop.

Azizul said PKFZ, which started operations late last year, already has an oil and gas company as an anchor tenant.

It currently has 22 firm contracts with international companies using warehouses, assembly plants, manufacturing plants and other facilities at the zone.

PKFZ is an integrated 405-hectacre international cargo distribution and consolidation centre at Pulau Indah and is designed to promote entrepot trade and manufacturing industries involved in producing goods primarily for export.

“We believe there is a lot of potential in the oil and gas industry in the Asia Pacific, especially near the PKFZ. Being at PKFZ will enable companies to supply products for offshore operations in a shorter time,” he added.

According to Azizul, PKFZ has already identified four Houston-based oil and gas companies, and two of them are interested to invest in Malaysia while a coating manufacturer is expected to invest about US$5 million (RM17.1 million) in the next three months at the free zone.

Azizul said PKFZ’s target is to get about 70 per cent foreign direct investment and gradually attract multinational companies to operate out of the free zone.

Besides oil and gas firms, he said, PKFZ is also looking to encourage investments in sectors such as logistics, assembly, automotive, pharmaceuticals, engineering, fabrication and petrochemicals.

When fully developed in five years’ time, PKFZ would be a significant focal point in terms of the strong economic stimulus from the many industries drawn to the zone as a result of its investor-friendly approach, he said.

The development of the free zone, Azizul said, represents a giant step in fulfilling the Government’s objective of making Port Klang a regional distribution base as well as a trade and logistics centre.

It will also complement the Selangor State Government’s plan to make Port Klang a vibrant commercial and industrial hub.

“Our concept of giving investors the option to build their own facilities will also enhance Selangor’s status as a developed state,” he said, adding that the zone would not only help stimulate economic growth in Port Klang but also the coastal region of Selangor.

Promoted as the country’s first fully integrated free commercial and industrial zone, PKFZ, which covers 400ha in all, offers prepared industrial sites (open land), light industrial units (LIUs) for factories and warehouses and office space at the PKFZ business complex.

PKFZ’s open land offers 298.4ha of prepared sites for long-term lease while the LIUs have 512 units at 510 sq metres each with a tenancy of one to three years.

Its office complex comprises four eight-storey blocks with a flexible tenancy of one to three years while other amenities include a one-stop service centre for on-site Customs, immigration and security services, and service providers such as banks, clinics and food courts.

There will also be a three-storey exhibition centre with 9,000 sq metres of display space.

“PKFZ thus becomes a central hub for investment opportunities for multinational companies, small- and medium-sized industries, distribution, value-added and logistics services to operate from a strategic location with a potential reach to a vast market via Port Klang or even the KL International Airport located just about 50km away by road,” said Azizul.

In addition, it is also connected to the Malaysian national railway grid which reaches out to Thailand easily.

PKFZ, modelled after Dubai’s Jebel Ali Free Zone, is designed by JAFZA International, the consulting and management division of Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza).

Jafza International, which will be managing PKFZ, will offer services and facilities within PKFZ covering management, sales, marketing and operations.

Jafza International has 20 years experience in port and free zone management and has helped governments develop free zones in Morocco and Djibouti.