KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — Datuk Tiong King Sing, the CEO of the main developer of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), will not retract his statement that MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat had received a RM10 million donation from him.
Today, Ong said that he was giving Tiong seven days to withdraw his statement and apologise or else face legal action.
The transport minister also lodged a police report against Tiong this morning for alleged criminal defamation.
In an immediate reaction, Tiong told The Malaysian Insider that he stands by his remarks given in a media interview yesterday.
"I will not retract my statement. Why do I need to retract? I welcome him (Ong) to lodge a police report. He can go ahead and sue me," said Tiong.
When asked if he would be able to show proof that Ong had accepted the donation, Tiong said that he had witnesses to corroborate his story.
"I donated the money to the party to unite their members and serve the people well. I offered a cheque but Ong asked for cash because it was faster. I am very sincere in my intentions," said Tiong.
He added that it was not his intention "to condemn people" and that Ong was his "friend".
"When they were doing all the investigations, I did not ask for an injunction to stop them from making statements. What we are angry about is that the special task force that is doing the investigations did not call us for any explanations," he said, referring to the special task force that was established to probe any wrongdoing in the scandal-hit PKFZ project.
Ong was forced yesterday to deny allegations that he had received a RM10 million donation last year from Tiong, who is CEO of Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd, (KDSB), the main developer of the PKFZ.
However, he confirmed he had used the private jet owned by KDSB but he said his office was waiting to be billed for the services.
The allegations by Tiong, who is the Barisan Nasional backbenchers’ chief, will certainly give the coalition a headache.
The disclosure came after the special task force to investigate the PKFZ project said this week it had found disputed claims amounting to at least RM500 million.
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