HAVING come under a torrent of criticism, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB), the turnkey contractor of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ), has decided to set the record straight by taking the Port Klang  Authority (PKA) and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat to court three weeks from now.

In revealing the timeline for KDSB to file the suit last night, deputy chief executive officer and executive director Datuk Faizal Abdullah said there was no turning back as both parties had tarnished the company's good name.

"Ong and PKA had tarnished the good name of the company. They had created doubts on the company's integrity and capabilities," he said. "We do not expect them to say sorry and we do not want them to say sorry to us. The damage has been done. We do not need an apology from them. Let the court decide."

Faizal said the suit would be filed on the basis that PKA and Ong had allegedly painted a bad picture of the company that damaged its credibility despite it having delivered its end of the deal.

KDSB, wholly-owned by Wijaya Baru Holdings Sdn Bhd, has been in the limelight since the end of May when the government made public a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), done after the project cost had more than doubled from its original RM1.957 billion to RM4.947 billion, including interest.

It was reported that the PwC findings had cast doubts on PKFZ as it revealed serious weaknesses in the way the project was run and that some parties might have a had a potential conflict of interest.

The report had also said should PKA fail to meet the Ministry of Finance's soft loan instalment of RM4.632 billion, the final figure would be RM12.453 billion in 2051.

KDSB claimed the report had taken a tol l on its reputation, so much so that Wijaya Baru's application for a loan of RM130,000 to purchase two cars on hire  purchase for its RM200 million flood mitigation project in Kelantan was rejected.

The company also claimed the PwC report insinuated that KDSB had colluded to defraud the government in the sale of land and the development of PKFZ.

Faizal said Ong's intention of reveal ing PwC' s report was questionable as the auditor's firm had clearly stated that the report was inconclusive and done with limited terms of references.

"When Ong and PKA decided to make the report public, they never called us to clarify matters. They made public the report, as if they have an ulterior motive against us."

The PKFZ Saga

1. In 1995, Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) bought 405ha of land in Pulau Indah, Selangor, from a cooperative at an average of RM3 per sq ft.
2. In 2002, the company sold the land to the government through the Port Klang Authority (PKA), for RM25 per sq ft.
3. In May this year, the government released an audit carried out by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which PKA hired.
4. The report said the involvement of several politicians insinuated that there might be some conflict of interest.
5. The report also noted the cost of the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) would balloon to RM12.453 billion by 2051 if PKA fails to meet the instalments of the Ministry of Finance loan it took, amounting to RM4.632 billion.
6. Allegations of abuse were levelled against KDSB's senior executives and PKA officials.
7. The PwC report claimed that PKA paid RM25 per sq ft for the land on the basis of special value.
8. KDSB said the increase in price was due to conversion of the land from agriculture to mixed development.
9. The project was questioned on economic grounds, with investiments being slow, having achieved only 14 per cent occupancy since PKFZ opened three years ago.
10. KDSB said the company had completed its work and delivered the project to PKA.
11. So far, PKA had paid the company only RM300 million of the RM1.2 billion that it had spent for the whole project.