A LIVE TALK SHOW ON BERNAMA TV ON CORRUPTION ENDED 20 MINUTES PREMATURELY AFTER THE PRODUCERS SUDDENLY PULLED THE PLUG ON THE ONE-HOUR SHOW ON FRIDAY NIGHT.

Live talk show was cut short, says Phang

PETALING JAYA: A live talk show on Bernama TV on corruption ended 20 minutes prematurely after the producers suddenly pulled the plug on the one-hour show on Friday night.

And Tan Sri Robert Phang, one of the panellists that night, claims it was political interference.

Phang, who is a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Advisory Committee panel member, alleged yesterday that MCA Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee Ka Siong tried to stop the show fearing he would expose the deputy Education Minister’s involvement in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) controversy.

Phang was a panellist with The Sun deputy editor Terence Fernandez on Friday’s Hello Malaysia talk show aired over Astro 502 at 10pm. However, the one-hour long programme, titled Graft and Corruption: The Diabolical Challenges Ahead, ended at 10.40pm.

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It is understood that the re-runs at 3.30am, 6.30am and 8.30am the following day were replaced with another interview after a person of higher authority at Bernama TV insisted on it.

In an interview with The Star, Phang alleged that certain MCA party members led by Dr Wee had exerted pressure on the producers to cancel the broadcast to prevent the panellists from discussing “sensitive issues” such as the PKFZ scandal.

“They also blocked all telephone calls to the show by viewers to black out comments,” he claimed.

Dr Wee could not be reached for comment.

Dr Wee’s former consultancy company Hijau Sekitar Sdn Bhd had conducted a conceptual study for Wijaya Baru Sdn Bhd, which is owned by Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing, the chief executive officer of PKFZ’s turnkey developer Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd.

Dr Wee was linked to the PKFZ scandal following a blog posting two weeks ago, but he has repeatedly said that his former company was only doing a conceptual study for Port Klang and that no fee was charged.