The answer by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions) Abdul Latiff Ahmad yesterday on the number of special advisers and special envoys of the Prime Minister, Ismail Sabri is both a shocker and an eye-opener.
The first question that comes to mind is why is the Prime Minister having so many special advisers and special envoys as he already has a jumbo-sized Cabinet of 31 Ministers and 38 deputy ministers and a full complement of High Commissioners and Ambassadors all over the world?
Is Ismail Sabri prepared to ask for specific approval from Parliament authorising him to appoint Special Advisers and Special Envoys? Otherwise, this is not parliamentary government but Special Adviser Government in Malaysia!
At present, Ismail Sabri has four special envoys – Abdul Hadi Awang (special envoy to the Middle East), Tiong King Sing (special envoy to China), Richard Riot (special envoy to Japan, Korea, and Taiwan), S Vigneswaran (special envoy to India and South Asia).
Can the four special envoys, Hadi Awang, Tiong King Sing, Richard Riot and Vigneswaran produce their 100-Day Report Cards? If the four super-Ambassadors are unable to produce their 100-day Report Cards, what are they useful for?
I had previously asked whether Malaysia’s special envoy to the Middle East had been banned from Saudi Arabia, and had never visited Saudi Arabia since his appointment as far back as April 2020, but no answer had been forthcoming.
What is the use of an Ambassador or Special Envoy of a region when he cannot visit the country or region he is supposed to be responsible?
How many times have Tiong King Sin visited China since his appointment and what had he done to justify his appointment? The same question applies to Hadi, Richard Riot and Vigneswaran.
Latiff told Parliament that the sixth Prime Minister, Najib Razak had the most number of advisers and special envoys during his premiership from 2009 till 2018.
It does not mean that the deviations and abuses of power by Najib is justification for Ismail Sabri to do the same when he becomes Prime Minister.
If so, Ismail will be perfectly justified to turn Malaysia again into a “kleptocracy at its worst” as during Najib’s tenure as Prime Minister and have his own 1MDB scandal.
When the book of Najib’s political communications adviser for six years, Romen Bose, “Final Reckoning – An Insider’s View of the Fall of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional Government” hit the bookshops yesterday, the surprise element was not that Bose had written an account of Najib’s fall from power, but that nobody has ever heard of him until his book came out.
We cannot have a secretive government where the Prime Minister has an army special advisers who are paid by public funds and yet Parliament and the people know nothing about it.
This secretive government must stop immediately!
(Media Statement by DAP MP for Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday,15th December 2021)
Bolehkah empat duta khas, Hadi Awang, Tiong King Sing, Richard Riot dan Vigneswaran mengeluarkan Kad Laporan 100 Hari mereka?
Jawapan Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Tugas-tugas Khas) Abdul Latiff Ahmad semalam mengenai jumlah penasihat khas dan duta khas Perdana Menteri, Ismail Sabri amat mengejutkan dan membuka mata ramai pihak.
Persoalan pertama yang terlintas di fikiran ialah mengapa Perdana Menteri mempunyai begitu ramai penasihat khas dan duta khas kerana beliau sudah mempunyai Kabinet gergasi yang terdiri daripada 31 menteri dan 38 timbalan menteri dan tidak kurang juga Pesuruhjaya Tinggi dan Duta Besar di seluruh dunia?
Adakah Ismail Sabri bersedia untuk meminta kelulusan khusus daripada Parlimen bagi memberi kuasa kepadanya untuk melantik Penasihat Khas dan Duta Khas? Jika tidak, ini bukan kerajaan parlimen tetapi Kerajaan Penasihat Khas di Malaysia!
Pada masa ini, Ismail Sabri mempunyai empat duta khas – Abdul Hadi Awang (duta khas ke Timur Tengah), Tiong King Sing (duta khas ke China), Richard Riot (duta khas ke Jepun, Korea, dan Taiwan), S Vigneswaran (duta khas ke India dan Asia Selatan).
Bolehkah empat utusan khas, Hadi Awang, Tiong King Sing, Richard Riot dan Vigneswaran mengeluarkan Kad Laporan 100 Hari mereka?
Jika empat Duta Besar tidak dapat menghasilkan Kad Laporan 100 hari mereka, apakah fungsi mereka ini?
Saya sebelum ini bertanya sama ada duta khas Malaysia ke Timur Tengah telah disekat daripada menjejak kaki ke Arab Saudi, dan tidak pernah melawat Arab Saudi sejak dilantik sebagai duta khas setakat April 2020, tetapi tiada jawapan yang diberikan.
Apa guna Duta atau Duta Khas sesuatu wilayah apabila dia tidak dapat melawat negara atau wilayah yang di bawah tanggungjawabnya?
Berapa kali Tiong Sin King melawat China sejak pelantikannya dan apakah yang telah dilakukannya untuk mewajarkan pelantikannya? Soalan yang sama ditujukan kepada Hadi, Richard Riot dan Vigneswaran.
Latiff memberitahu Parlimen bahawa Perdana Menteri keenam, Najib Razak mempunyai bilangan penasihat dan duta khas paling ramai semasa menjadi perdana menteri dari 2009 hingga 2018.
Ia tidak bermakna penyelewengan dan salah guna kuasa oleh Najib menjadi justifikasi untuk Ismail Sabri melakukan perkara yang sama apabila menjadi Perdana Menteri.
Jika ya, Ismail sengaja mahu menjadikan Malaysia sekali lagi dikenali sebagai “kleptokrasi yang paling teruk” seperti zaman Najib menjadi Perdana Menteri dan terpalit dengan skandal ala 1MDB yang tersendiri.
Apabila buku penasihat komunikasi politik Najib selama enam tahun, Romen Bose, “Final Reckoning – An Insider’s View of the Fall of Malaysia’s Barisan Nasional Government” mula dijual di kedai-kedai buku semalam, unsur yang mengejutkan bukanlah Bose telah menulis kisah tentang kejatuhan Najib daripada tampuk kuasa, tetapi tiada siapa yang pernah tahu atau mendengar tentang beliau sehinggalah buku hasil tulisannya diterbitkan dan mula dijual.
Kita tidak boleh mempunyai kerajaan rahsia di mana Perdana Menteri mempunyai sepasukan penasihat khas yang dibayar menerusi dana awam tetapi Parlimen dan rakyat tidak tahu mengenainya.
Kerajaan rahsia ini mesti dihentikan segera!
(Kenyataan Media oleh Ahli Parlimen DAP Iskandar Puteri Lim Kit Siang di Rabu, 15 Disember 2021)
