An hour before midnight, Bernama released the news from the Prime Minister’s Office “Zulkipli’s Contract As ACA Chief Not Extended”.

The decision not to renew Zulkipli’s contract as Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, which ends today, has saved the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi from a “firestorm” of nation-wide protest and international ridicule which would have immediately exploded in his face if Zulkipli’s contract as ACA chief had been further extended — a grave consequence which I had taken pains to serve public warning in my media statement yesterday morning.

In fact, no ACA director-general apart from Zulkipli had brought greater disrepute and odium to the anti-corruption agency in its 40-year history — with Malaysians questioning for the first time its very integrity apart from its ineffectiveness and impotence when dealing with corruption involving the “big political fishes”.

It reflects poorly on the lack of political will of the Prime Minister in his pledge to give top priority in his administration to the campaign against corruption that Zulkipli was allowed in the past month to continue to helm the ACA in the face of serious corruption allegations made against him by former Sabah ACA director Mohamad Ramli Manan when he should have been asked to go on leave to protect the public image and integrity of ACA.

Zulkipli’s credibility and integrity suffered a serious dent when he backed out of his earlier public commitment to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) as he had nothing to hide, raising questions as to what are the things he could not say and reveal to the PSCI about ACA’s integrity, commitment and sense of purpose to wipe out corruption.

The close-to-midnight statement from the Prime Minister’s Office is however a great disappointment. Read the rest of this entry »