Teng wonders aloud: Quit calls linked to PKFZ?

Gerakan vice-president Teng Hock Nan today alluded that the calls for Koh Tsu Koon to step down as a cabinet minister and party president as a conspiracy linked to the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.

In his winding-up speech at the Gerakan national delegates conference, Teng pondered aloud on this conspiracy theory by pointing out that Sri Gading MP and Barisan Nasional backbencher Mohamad Aziz had also fingered MCA president Ong Tee Keat.

Teng reminded his audience that Ong, who is also transport minister, was the key figure and initiator of the on-going PKFZ probe.

“On Sept 6, our president as the minister in charge of key performance index, had only openly stated his support for a royal commission to probe the PKFZ scandal,” said Teng.

“If you put one and one together, you will know who the 'black hand' (mastermind) is,” he added, without mentioning specific names.

This is the first time that a public figure has attempted to draw link between Mohamad and the PKFZ scandal, which involves BN Backbenchers Club (BBC) chairperson Tiong King Sing.

Tiong is the owner of the PKFZ turn-key contractor which has been accused of overcharging the government for the scandal-tainted project.

Protest letter to BBC

During the debate on the Supply Bill 2010 last week, Mohamad urged both Ong and Koh to step down from their respective posts because they were underperforming.

Mohamad, an Umno MP, is believed to be close to Tiong, a tycoon-cum-politician from the Sarawak United People's Party (Supp).
Teng said Mohamad's outburst had caused a great insult to the president and thus the party had been insulted as well.

“The prime minister said it is his prerogative and he wants to show us respect. Now, a backbencher isopenly insulting our president, isn't this openly insulting Gerakan as well?” he asked.

Teng said though he understands that the party grassroots are furious, he hoped that they will channel their energy in a positive manner.

He called on the conference to resolve to submit a official letter of protest to the Backbenchers Club to seek a reassurance that this sort of incidents do not recur.

Chang moots cyberwar

Meanwhile, deputy president Chang Ko Youn in his winding-up speech called on party members to engage young voters through the Internet as this is their primary source of information.

“We must take up the cyber war. The cyberwar is the area which we can capture the imagination of the youngsters,” he said.

Citing his own experience, he said he knew of parents in Ipoh who tried in vain to convince their children to vote BN due to the influence of the Internet.

He claims that many opposition supporters were also very intolerant of criticism against opposition leaders and it was important for the party to engage them in discussions.

“We can see when we criticise the opposition, their members jump. They become jittery. That is the attitude that we are facing. They have closed their mind towards any criticism.

“To them, everything DAP do is correct. Everything BN does is wrong. That is the scenario that we are facing,” he said.