KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 13 — Over a month after his acquittal from cheating charges in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik finally broke his silence today on the case, saying he had been “wrongly accused”.

The former MCA president added that he not only felt vindicated by the acquittal but also still believes it had been a good decision to establish the multibillion-ringgit project.

The former transport minister pointed out that despite the numerous scandalous claims surrounding PKFZ, the project was now doing very well.

“I visited PKFZ recently. I was briefed by chairman of PKA (Port Klang Authority) Teh Kim Poo and Chia Kon Leong, CEO of PKFZ. The land was sold at RM21 (per square feet) but now, it’s RM70 to RM80 (psf)… so PFKZ is doing well,” he was quoted as saying in Malaysiakini.

The news portal reported that Ling later said the misunderstanding surrounding the PKFZ was stirred by those who were unfamiliar with the port’s operations and set-up.

Dr Ling later touched on his acquittal, believed to be the first time since he was freed from charges on October 25, and said he felt vindicated by the outcome of the case.

“God is great. God knows who is wrongly accused,” he was quoted as saying.

On October 25, the High Court acquitted Dr Ling of having cheated the government, ruling that the ex-minister’s lawyers had raised reasonable doubt in the prosecution’s case.

The trial started in August 2011, with Dr Ling ordered to enter his defence on March 9 last year while the defence closed its case on June 20 this year.

Dr Ling was Malaysia’s transport minister for 17 years from January 1986 to May 2003.

He was charged in July 2010 with deceiving the Cabinet into approving the land purchase for the PKFZ project, despite knowing that the approval would result in wrongful losses for the government.

The PKFZ project, which was proposed by Dr Ling in 1997, had an initial cost of RM1.1 billion that then ballooned to over RM4.6 billion in 2007.

Besides Dr Ling, a few individuals have since been charged in court, including his successor as transport minister, Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy.

The cheating trial of Chan, a former MCA deputy president, has yet to be heard.

After Dr Ling’s acquittal, the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) said it would not challenge the matter further in court, earning brickbats from critics who described the decision as dubious.

On December 3, the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on corruption noted public concerns over Dr Ling’s perceived flawed trial and criticised the prosecution team in its 2012 report.

In a summary statement of the report, which was submitted to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday, the PSC strongly urged the prosecution team to be better prepared in high profile cases to avoid a recurrence of what it termed as “shoddy investigation”.

“Some members of the public have questioned the trial because it exposed weaknesses in the investigation and prosecution.

“The PSC hope the investigation involving high profile cases including this (Lim’s trial) can be conducted thoroughly, detailed and holistic from the aspect of evidence gathering and statements from key witnesses so there can be a prima facie before prosecution can be made in court,” said the statement.