Former Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s latest statement is even more self-incriminating and as a major UMNO leader and former senior UMNO Minister, he should not hide behind any legal loophole but set an example of accountability, transparency and integrity by revealing all about the improprieties and illegalities in the land swaps under his watch as Defence Minister.
It is all right and proper for him to expose the faults of previous Defence Ministers, as he is not only entitled but has a duty to do so, but he should not apply double standards and spare himself from such exposure of irregularities and illegalities of land swap transactions during his tenure as Defence Minister.
Hishammuddin’s first self-incriminating statement was his cryptic advice to the Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu and Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong “if they live in glass houses, don’t throw stones”.
I for one would like to know if Mohamad Sabu or Chin Tong are alleged to be involved in corruption or malpractices as to live in “glass houses”.
The question that arises now is whether as a responsible citizen, and even more important, in memory of the great reputation for integrity of his father, Tun Hussein Onn, the third Prime Minister of Malaysia, he would volunteer all information of corruption and malpractices in the Defence Ministry whether under his watch or those of other Ministers to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to start a clean-up of the Ministry of Defence as well as other Ministries so that Malaysia can be recognised as a nation of integrity in the international arena.
Hishammudin said in his latest statement that former prime ministers and ministers must take responsibility for any wrongdoing.
Why then had he kept his silence all these years about former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and the 1MDB scandal, especially when Malaysia was condemned by the world as a global kleptocracry?
Why did Hishammuddin support Najib’s sacking of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal from the Cabinet and Tan Sri Gani Patail as Attorney-General that infamous week in July 2015, and when the various national institutions including Parliament were neutered to protect Najib from any fallouts of any expose of the 1MDB scandal?
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Sibu on Friday, 17th May 2019)