Wee Ka Siong says Ong Kian Ming’s fact-check on cabotage debate is wrong, NTT will dispel his claims

Transport Minister Dr Wee Ka Siong has responded to Bangi MP Dr Ong Kian Ming’s recent fact check on points presented during the live cabotage debate. Yesterday, Dr Ong highlighted several misleading points made by the Minister which include the actual ownership of the Apricot subsea cable, the current position of Mr Yoshio Sato in NTT as well as the claims that Malaysia has the required DP2 ships to carry out undersea cable repairs.

Dr Wee responded on Twitter and Facebook to tell Dr Ong as a friend that he has given the government’s stance on the cabotage policy during the debate with Lim Guan Eng. The Transport Minister said the points raised by the DAP MAP are factually wrong and urge him to do better fact-checking.

He suggests Dr Ong to write to NTT for clarification and he’s confident that the Japan telecommunications company will dispel his claims. Dr Wee added that if Dr Ong insists that he is factually right, he will have no choice but to reveal the truth.

During the live debate, Dr Wee said NTT is the owner of the Apricot cable and shared several clips of video conference calls with Mr Yoshio Sato, the Vice President of NTT. In one of the clips, it was revealed that NTT is planning to land its new Intra-Asia Express cable in Kuching, Sarawak as well as West Malaysia. Mr Sato also told Dr Wee that he needs a big help to achieve the project.

Yesterday, Dr Ong had issued a statement to poke holes at Dr Wee’s claims. He accused the Transport Minister for misleading the public as the Apricot cable belongs to a consortium consisting of 5 companies which include Google, Facebook, PLDT and Chunghwa. The Bangi MP also claimed that Mr Sato is no longer an employee with NTT and he has set up a company called Orient Link Pte Ltd. As a result, Mr Sato cannot speak on behalf of NTT especially about future investments in the region.

Besides debunking Dr Wee’s claims that Malaysia has DP2 vessels for undersea cable repairs, he also highlighted a potential conflict of interest as Mr Sato has links with the founder of OMS Group, Mr. Lim Soon Foo. He questioned if Mr Sato is able to speak independently on his views on the cabotage policy when one of his company’s directors is also the main beneficiary of the policy.

[ IMAGE SOURCE ]