Why let Tajuddin go scot-free?


The Malaysian Insider |August 11, 2011

AUG 11 — Why?

Why let Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli get off the hook by ordering all government-linked companies, including Malaysia Airlines and the national debt restructuring company Danaharta, to cease all civil suits against the one-time corporate high-flyer?

That’s a question that Putrajaya has to answer.

After all, Danaharta has a judgment against the one-time telecommunications, tourism and transport czar and as at December 31, 2005, the amount outstanding was RM589.14 million.

On May 11, 2006, which also happened to be the original Umno’s 60th year, Danaharta and the subsidiaries commenced action to recover the money from the man trusted by Umno to helm Malaysia’s flag carrier.

So why this volte-face in Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz’s letter to the GLCs and Danaharta that the Finance Ministry will settle all outstanding civil suits against Tajuddin, a poster boy of Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s plan to groom Bumiputera entrepreneurs.

“This is to inform you that the government of Malaysia and the Finance Ministry have agreed to settle all civil claims against Tan Sri Dato Tajuddin Ramli and others to be withdrawn immediately in view of the fact that the government and the Finance Ministry have agreed that the said cases will be settled out of court.

“For your information the government has given me the mandate to act for the government in this matter,” Nazri said in the letter sighted by The Malaysian Insider.

To add the incredulous nature of this flip-flop, Nazri’s letter also directs the lawyers acting for the GLCs and Danaharta to hand over their cases to the firm of Hasfarizam Wan and Aisha Mubarak, a known Umno lawyer.

Why an Umno lawyer? Is there any more blatant show of the nexus between business and politics in Malaysia?

Doesn’t it raise further suspicions about how this country is managed?

MAS was a profitable company when it was flogged off to Tajuddin in 1994 but by the time he left at the end of 2001, the state airline was in debt for RM9.5 billion. It has never recovered since then, despite going through an asset-stripping exercise and two business turnaround plans.

Just this week, the men who engineered MAS’s wide asset unbundling (WAU) in 2002 had to finally resort to getting the men behind Asia’s largest budget carrier AirAsia to help steer the loss-making state airline back to profitability.

But those who presided over MAS’s decline from one of Asia’s best airlines to an also-ran are not brought to account for their deeds. Fact is, MAS has lodged a police report against Tajuddin. Is that report now considered false?

For those outside the corridors of power in Putrajaya, there must be a need for accountability. If the likes of Tajuddin can go scot-free, then the politicians who absolved him will have to be accountable. Perhaps, in the next general election.

  1. #1 by drngsc on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 6:05 pm

    Looks like it is a you scratch my back, I scratch your back deal. This government has no shame anymore, and no right or wrong.
    Looks like BN needs money from this failed, rich crony, to fight in the GE 13.

    Tough though it will be, we need to change the tenant at Putrajaya. Our best chance is GE13.

  2. #2 by boh-liao on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 6:38 pm

    All in d family mah, 1 4 all n all 4 1, jiak jiak jiak; What can rakyat do? Nothing mah
    Just look at d on-going court case against LLS, every1 knows d outcome oredi

  3. #3 by yhsiew on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 8:59 pm

    ///Why let Tajuddin go scot-free?///

    I help you, you help me mah. Who knows what benefits Tajuddin may bring to Putrajaya next time.

  4. #4 by Loh on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 9:00 pm

    Malaysia practices one law two applications. Home Minister somehow had the authority to forgive persons who committed criminal offences. Now unless he had been authorized by the appropriate body in the country to do that, the Home Minister is committing an offence for usurping power of the AG office and the Court, to settle to forgive criminals.

    Since the case against the UMNOputra was a civil case out of court settlement is legal. So giving away government funds can be done legally so long as it is taken from a company, and GLCs are backed by the country’s wealth, they are the most convenient place to help oneself with easy money for UMNOputras.

  5. #5 by Loh on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 9:07 pm

    ///Deputy police chief today defended the quashing of an electoral reform rally last month, saying it helped avoid the type of tragic scenes being seen in riot-torn Britain.The government was criticised…///–Malaysiakini

    The Deputy Police Chief has just equated Bersih supporters to looters in London who were out to help themselves to what they want, and they were criminals. Bersih supporters wanted to stop the EC from sleeping on its job.

    If the DIGP could not even differentiate between what constitute a legitimate protest and the abhor-able criminal actions, then he is not fit to be DIGP. But in Malaysia persons sit in the job they do not deserve are a norm. It is just that DIGP call attention to his inferior brain.

  6. #6 by monsterball on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 9:20 pm

    Tajuddin Ramli did say Mahathir instructed him to do this do that and vowed if he goes down…he has plenty to be revealed.
    Nazri is such a sickening liar.
    He thinks he is smarter than many Malaysians who can put him in their pockets.

  7. #7 by dagen on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 10:42 pm

    How long more can umno be allowed to go on with such monkey business?

  8. #8 by tak tahan on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 10:52 pm

    As long as those monkeys still want it to be so.But the monkeys see,hear and do nothing..wakakaka

  9. #9 by asia on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 11:08 pm

    These are their standard culture

    They are working, working to find a way how to make money of millions

    These are their culture to steal money legally up to millions you be the teacher in the gang to tech others how to do it —– rob till the country complete bankrupt…anyone rob million migrate oversea when this country totally bankrupt be paid by those still live there

    So please do continue vote us the cronies as we have not enough yet……

  10. #10 by eh on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 11:41 pm

    What’s happening to this country? People get away with things…even with statistics, data, reports..and all. This country is going down fast…really need a change of leadership and governance…

  11. #11 by Godfather on Thursday, 11 August 2011 - 11:57 pm

    Gua tolong lu, lu tolong gua lah….I forgive you for the RM 590 million debt…you pay me RM 200 million offshore lah…..so it is a win-win formula for everybody. Except for the taxpayers of course, but who cares about the common man ?

  12. #12 by monsterball on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 12:38 am

    What Nazri is saying…if the case goes to court..it may take 10 years..and Mahathir is long gone dead by that time.
    So why not settle out of court and be done with it.
    What Nazri is actually doing is protecting Mahathir.
    That’s the kind of Law Minister we are having.

  13. #13 by Cinapek on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 12:47 am

    The full force of the law is used to go after the ordinary rakyat for every cent you owe the Govt in the form of taxes or fines. But cronies such as Tajuddin can owe billions and they go off scot free.

    I suppose the BN Govt is afraid what he can reveal if he is pushed into a corner. He has already threatened part of it. If Najib can drop all the cases, the Mamak will in return support Najib.

  14. #14 by boh-liao on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 2:58 am

    TR cried with joy: Go d b praised! Kenduri besar time!
    UmnoB/BN rule forever, OK! What d far k can U noise makers do 2 UmnoB/BN?
    Nothing! Eat your heart out lah!

  15. #15 by boh-liao on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 3:30 am

    Nazi said: Whoever made noise against dis settlement will b locked up; let U taste lock up experience (bo gel ramai2 n be rak depan orang) baru U tahu, not scared ah
    http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/172716

  16. #16 by sheriff singh on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 3:31 am

    Why let Tajuddin go scot-free?

    He has the key to the cupboard that holds all the secrets and skeletons of the power brokers past, present and even the future.

    If he opens it, the mother of all scandals will be unleashed when all the worms crawl out.

    Better keep him quiet and happy.

  17. #17 by monsterball on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 3:47 am

    Malaysians must pay up every sen owed to the government and they will send representatives to knock at your door…if you don’t pay up.
    They say..pay now and ask questions later.
    If not…a warrant of arrest will be issued.
    Hundreds of millions owed to the government….and all sorts of arrangements are being made to so call settle out of court.
    The fact is….these hundreds of millions… involve Mahathir.
    Crooks are protecting crooks in the government.
    You can never get them….until they loose power and the only way is to vote them out.
    Nazri can give all his wise and smart advises to protect Mahathir.
    Home Minister job is to protects Najib only.
    This Law Minister is now protecting Mahathir. It’s “you help me. I help you” within their party…stand united and whatever it takes.. to avoid jail sentences for all.

  18. #18 by k1980 on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 7:08 am

    Unlike Lorraine Osiman, Tah Choo Tin need not go hiding in London. But like Lorraine, Choo Tin’s wealth will qualify him not as a bankrupt, but as a billionaire.

  19. #19 by undertaker888 on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 7:58 am

    There you go again for those ketuanan NEP ret@rds. They have all the Tan Sri titles but business acumens are 1000 rungs below the average hawkers. The only business they know is to steal our money into their pockets.

    Badawi hand is on MAS cookie jar. Mamak’s hand is on the petronas cookie jar. Diam-diam zainuddin hand is on every cookie jars. This country has gone to the rats. And the rats are giving us plagues. Time to burn the Busuk Negara.

  20. #20 by dagen on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 8:30 am

    Pharking hell! I am too disgusted to comment.

  21. #21 by boh-liao on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 9:23 am

    In dis nation, big fat crooks r honored, while honest just ppl kena water cannons n tear gas, n detained under EO, ISA, or simply driven 2 suicide

  22. #22 by Winston on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 9:24 am

    And ordinary Malaysians were told to tighten their belts?

  23. #23 by asia on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 9:36 am

    Wake up those Kg folks with Malay with facts

    Another 5 years term to them

    Explain to them today you get value of 50 dollar or 100 dollars bribe during election later your family may need pay debt of 10 times to 100 times the value

    Explain to them it is a fact reality

    Those corrupted politicians make million migrate leaving behind your families and Malaysians paying the debt of may turn over 100 billions

    The shares drop and money value drop

    We are supposed now being enjoy better living standard and income than Singapore

    Because of corrupted politicians we don’t reach it

  24. #24 by ktteokt on Friday, 12 August 2011 - 12:33 pm

    UMNO is treating Malaysians as FOOLS! First they PRIVATIZED MAS and let an inexperienced Malay businessman (that’s what they claim) to run the show. Now that it is in deep shit, UMNO is saying the government will foot the bill to cover the debts. Whose money is that, may I know?

    I think Malaysia is the only nation which uses public money for experiments and when these experiments fail, public money is again used to salvage the failed projects!

    Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution was never wrong! The UMNO Malays must be thinking if their leader, Mahathir can be so smart, then all the UMNO Malays must be smart too! Hello! Mahathir is NEVER A MALAY, he is an INDIAN from a civilization of 6000 years!

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