KUALA LUMPUR: MCA may suffer more defeats in the next general election if the RM12.45 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal continues to haunt the party.

MCA president Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat said the PKFZ scandal contributed to MCA’s dismal performance in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur during the 12th general election as it was a “hot issue” that was used by the opposition to gain votes.

Ong said he was caught in a “catch-22” situation as on one hand, the PKFZ scandal had affected MCA in the 12th general election, while on the other, MCA might be further impacted in the next general election if the scandal was not addressed.

“I have put it very clearly to the delegates since this issue was brought up — that if at all this is the root cause (of the MCA crisis), then I must tender my apology to party members,” he said when met by media representatives following MCA’s 56th AGM on March 7.

Ong said it could have been “a coincidence” in the timeline between the probe into the PKFZ scandal and the MCA party crisis, stressing that he was nevertheless duty-bound as transport minister to address the issue.

“I couldn’t establish any direct linkage as I’ve said I did not conduct any specific investigation along that line. The only investigation I had was on the issue proper of the PKFZ,” he said when asked if the probe on the project had a bearing on his turbulent presidency.

The PKFZ scandal saw several MCA veterans including Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy, Tan Sri Dr Ting Chew Peh and Datuk Yap Pian Hon appearing before the parliamentary Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to facilitate the probe.

Earlier, the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) audit report revealed details that the PKFZ project that was initially estimated at RM1.96 billion ended up costing the Port Klang Authority (PKA) RM4.95 billion including interest cost due to deferred payments.

The report stated that the project outlay will cost RM7.45 billion inclusive of a soft loan provided by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), which the PKA has to start paying from 2010.

It also said should PKA fail to meet its debt obligation to MoF, it is expected to be cash flow negative till 2041 and would incur further interest cost to push the total project outlay to RM12.45 billion.