by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya Friday, October 21, 1994:
Liong Sik should learn to accept Ministerial responsibility like Thomson-CSF which accepted responsibility for the Subang radar station fire although the fire was not caused by the company’s equipment
Transport Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Ling Liong should learn to accept Ministerial responsibility like the French firm Thomson-CSF which accepted responsibility for the Subang radar station fire on August 13 although the fire was not caused by the company’s equipment.
Liong Sik was commenting yesterday on the statement by the Thomson managing director, Pierre-Marie Durand that the Subang radar station fire which knocked out the RM16 million approach radar did not start from its equipment but from an air-conditioner sub-contracted locally.
Liong Sik said that while it is true that it was not Thomson’s set that caused the fire, Thomson was still responsible as the main contractor for the air traffic, control system. It did not matter therefore that the air-conditioner which was subcontracted locally was the cause of the fire.
Why is Liong Sik not prepared to practice what he preached with regard to Thomson’s responsibility and accountabil¬ity – for as Minister of Transport, he must accept Ministerial responsibility for the Subang radar station fire.
In fact, Liong Sik should accept Ministerial responsibility for six Kuala Lumpur international Airport fires in two years, two multi-million ringgit goldbar robberies at the Subang airport cargo complex in four months and three ‘near-miss’ colli¬sions between aircrafts on the airport runway in three weeks.
Furthermore, Liong Sik has failed to explain why he stayed away from the Subang radar station for 60 hours after the fire before visiting the airport, and whether this was part of a ‘cover-up plot’ to mislead the country and the Prime Minister about the seriousness of the Subang radar station fire.
The country is still waiting for Liong Sik to explain his 60-hour absence from the Subang international Airport after the Subang radar station fire on August 13 and the ‘cover-up’ to mislead the country and the Prime Minister.
DAP MPs will continue to demand in Parliament that Liong Sik accept Ministerial responsibility for the string of Kuala Lumpur International Airport disasters and in particular to explain his 60-hour absence after the Subang radar station fire and the ‘cover-up plot’ to mislead the country and the Prime Minister.