I have this morning sent an urgent fax to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI), Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, proposing that the Select Committee meeting on Monday should be held as scheduled to hear the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor and former top ACA officer and “whistleblower” Mohamad Ramli Manan or to reconsider whether to hear the duo and the Select Committee’s role in latest developments raising fundamental questions about national integrity, in particular in ACA and Police
I also placed on record my shock and protest at Bernard’s announcement yesterday arbitrarily cancelling the PSCI meeting on Monday to hear Zulkipli and Ramli on serious allegations of corruption in the ACA.
I stressed that as the March 12 meeting to hear Zulkipli and Ramli was the formal decision of the PSCI meeting on 27th Feb. 2007, the second day of its meeting to deal with issues concerning the scourge of the false identity card rackets in Sabah, any cancellation of the March 12 meeting could only be made by the PSCI itself and not unilaterally and arbitrarily by any one person.
Bernard said in his statement yesterday that the decision to cancel the Select Committee meeting on Monday was the decision of the majority of the Integrity Select Committee and New Straits Times today even reported that the decision was taken at a meeting of the Select Committee meeting yesterday.
There was no meeting of the Integrity Select Committee yesterday. I have checked with the MPs who attended the PSCI meeting of Feb. 27 and found that there is no clear majority in favour of the cancellation of the March 12 meeting.
Bernad phoned me on the evening of Wednesday, 7th March 2007, to discuss whether the March 12 meeting should be cancelled. At that time, I was hospitalized at the Penang Lam Wah Ee Hospital and had just undergone an eye operation.
I made my views very clear however that the PSCI meeting of March 12 to hear both Zulkifli and Ramli should proceed as scheduled especially as both of them have publicly stated their preparedness to appear to speak the whole truth with both claiming that they have nothing to hide.
Police investigations against Zulkifli and the filing of lawsuits by Ramli against his former boss and several government agencies cannot be excuses or justification for the arbitrary and unparliamentary cancellation of the Monday meeting, as the PSCI is not intended to be a court of law but has special responsibility to address the problem of integrity in ACA, in particular in the latest developments with ACA suffering its worst national and international crisis of confidence in its integrity and incorruptibility.
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity is not an arm of the Executive and its whole credibility, legitimacy and integrity will be at stake if it is seen as buckling down to any ulterior and improper pressures to arbitrarily cancel its meeting on Monday to hear Zulkipli and Ramli on ACA corruption.
The very purpose of having a Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity will also become an issue if it is unable to address promptly with the biggest crisis of integrity not only in the past three years but in the 50-year history of the nation — viz the latest developments raising fundamental questions about national integrity, in particular in ACA and Police.
As the notice to cancel the PSCI meeting on Monday is improper, unparliamentary, arbitrary and defective, the PSCI should meet on Monday as scheduled, especially as Zulkipli and Ramli have committed publicly to attend.
Alternatively, the PSCI should meet on March 12 to decide whether to hear Zulkipli and Ramli and the Select Committee’s role in latest developments raising fundamental questions about national integrity, in particular in ACA and the Police.
Questions have been raised as to the real cause for the abrupt and arbitrary cancellation of Monday’s meeting.
Could it be that despite public claims of preparedness to appear before the PSCI by Zulkipli and Ramli, this is not really the case? If so, who could it be, Zulkipli or Ramli who is unwilling to appear before the Select Committee?
Ramli would not have the influence to force the cancellation of the Monday meeting even if he is unwilling to appear, but Zulkipli would have the leverage to cause the cancellation of the Select Committee meeting. Both Zulkipli and Ramli should publicly declare whether they still stand by their earlier public statements about their preparedness to appear before the Select Committee on Integrity to tell all as they have nothing to hide.
#1 by unsatisfied on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 10:54 am
Zulkipli is the head of ACA,his responsibility is to cover for Pak Lah and his SIL illegal bussiness. Therefore he cannot and will not be taken action right from the start. Now it is up to us, to vote or not to vote for BN. You figure it out.
#2 by HJ Angus on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 11:05 am
Even the most powerful figures in Washington must appear before select committees when asked to do so.
Newspapers recently showed Condaleeza Rice appearing before one.
Guess over here MPs are the lowest in the pecking order when important people are involved. We need to inject Parliament with more teeth to keep the Executive in check.
Getting the ACA to answer directly to Parliament would be a good step to making everyone more transparent and accountable including the PM.
And we also need to put people of more calibre in Parliament; those who are not afraid to reflect the views of their voters and not just the “yes sir, how high to jump sir?” members.
#3 by BobSam on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 11:52 am
Get back to basics please. Forget about changing the laws.
Lets go back to the existing laws.
Parliment is not subservient to the Executive nor the Judiciary, each have their own independence.
Kit’s argument is that the cancellation may have the “look & feel” of bowing down to PRESSURE of the Executive which is IMPROPER.
The constitution should prevail.
#4 by sheriff singh on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 1:02 pm
The truth is out there. The usual steps have been taken to ensure that nobody finds it.
#5 by Jeffrey on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 1:09 pm
According to NST 9th March report, Parliamentary Select Committee chairman and Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok said yesterday the committee took note of the developments during a meeting yesterday (on 8th March) and a majority decided to cancel the meeting.
[Bernard’s statement did not mention anything about a meeting yesterday. It was a mistake by NST. The following is from Bernard’s statement:
– Kit]
According YB Lim Kit Siang: –
· “There was no meeting of the Parliamentary Integrity Select Committee yesterday. I have checked with the MPs who attended the PSCI meeting of Feb. 27 and found that there is no clear majority in favour of the cancellation of the March 12 meetingâ€Â; and
· “The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity is not an arm of the Executive and its whole credibility, legitimacy and integrity will be at stake if it is seen as buckling down to any ulterior and improper pressures to arbitrarily cancel its meeting on Monday to hear Zulkipli and Ramli on ACA corruptionâ€Â.
The implication here is that PSCI’s chairperson may not be telling the truth, not following parliamentary procedures of serving proper notice and could be perceived buckling to “ulterior and improper pressuresâ€Â. This development also implies that whole credibility, legitimacy and integrity of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity are at stake.
Now we are trapped in a situation:-
We can’t have ACA (with Zulkipli still at the helm before clearance of allegations against him) investigate allegations against Johari;
We can’t have the police (with Johari still at the helm before clearance of allegations against him) investigate allegations against Zulkipli ;
Can we now have Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) investigate Zulkipli and/or Johari with Bernard Dompok at the helm of PSCI as chairperson when Bernard has said there was a meeting of PSCI on 8th March that LKS has denied there was one, and if there were indeed one, it had proceeded irregularly in haste without proper notice and in the absence and without consent of LKS?
Now confusion reins as the new question now arises in the wake of the latest development of PSCI’s chairperson’s questionable cancellation of the scheduled meeting on Monday 12th March – what committee is suitable to examine, evaluate the conduct of the chairperson of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity and whether he has, by his actions, compromised credibility, legitimacy and integrity of PSCI?
Before this preliminary issue is resolved regarding the conduct of the PSCI’s Chairperson, how could PSCI proceed further to consider hearing Zulkipli and/or Johari anymore as argued here?
Aiyo I think the country is in crisis. Every institution is in question now, if one follows LKS’s line of enquiry.
In the beginning, PSCI could serve at least as a independent watchdog over the other two watchdogs (police and ACA).
Now with the latest developments there is no more watch dog over the watchdogs . The supposed watchdog (PSCI) over the other 2 would itself need a watchdog! How like that?
It is becoming theatrically comic as we search in vain for a proper oversight body that could conduct enquiry on issues of corruption with credentials of impartiality and independence from the Executive.
#6 by smeagroo on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 1:50 pm
DUMB Po?k waiting for higher instructions la or maybe divine intervention.
#7 by sheriff singh on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 1:59 pm
If Dumpok lied, then he should go for “confession”.
If a lie or wrongdoing is established, then Dumpok would be liable for failing in his duties as a parliamentarian and perhaps be in contempt thereof. He should then be referred to the relevant parliamentary disciplinary committee (!) for appropriate action.
The BN forms the overwhelming majority in all the committees so they could get away with whatever they want, even saying a meeting was held when it wasn’t. Bolehland is full of phantoms, so a phantom meeting is not extraordinary.
The government might say the cases are “still being investigated” so it will be “subjudice” and will “interfere in their investigations”, the usual excuses, so everyone should just shut up for the time being.
But couldn’t the PSCI look at completed cases where everything is already settled? The case of the former Chief Minister of Sabah Osu Sukam for his huge gambling debts comes into mind and the courts have already decided on it.
#8 by ahkok1982 on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 2:01 pm
it is really sad to know tt e organization which is supposed to keep in check e ACA n police is right now also in question. as jeffrey said, now the watchdog of watchdogs also need a watchdog to watch over it but wait, how do we know if this watchdog of the watchdog of the watchdog does not need a watchdog to watch over it?
so i guess, once again, bodoh-land is going to b e laughing stock of the whole world. the only thing tt e executive/parliament/judiciary can do is to create more “zhau kau”s (running dogs). a whole array of high level “mat skoding” watching each others backside n then report to aab who is still sleeping n when he does wake up, he will only say, “apa? ada berita macam ni ka? tak tau la. tanya itu orang la… saya pm ‘in control’ tau. tentulah kena kontrol masa tidur.”
#9 by jonwon on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 2:55 pm
Since the police investigations are underway and they have interviewed and recorded the statements from the parties concerned, let the investigation complete first. Any wrongdoing will be decided in the judiciary system. Should the results be unstatisfactory in the way the investigations are conducted or the count findings are presented and judged, PSCI can then come in and further probe into the investigations.
LKS, be patient. Everyone else is waiting for the verdict too.
#10 by k1980 on Friday, 9 March 2007 - 3:51 pm
If these incidents had occured in Singapore, those affected would had resigned on their own accord before the investigations were launched to check on the allegations.
#11 by WFH on Saturday, 10 March 2007 - 4:37 am
Cant help but feel that with the many files in Zulkipli’s office cabinet, PM AAB’s ministerial Cabinet may be just a subservient Cabinet of Zulkipli’s cabinet. There are more “Officials'” secrets in Zulkipli’s cabinet then official secrets covered by the Official Secrets Act as Cabinet Meeting minutes/deliberations. So, Zulkipli, as ACA top gun, IS more powerful than the Cabinet of PM AAB. In fact, the word ‘gun’ here is not inappropriate in this context after at all
So, is Tan Sri Bernard Dompok’s uniateral decision to cancel the PSCI’s meeting of 12/3/07 a surprise? Well, at least the maxim “Honour amongst thieves” is well and truly demonstrated here. Personally, I’d have wished for Scout’s Honour to apply instead.
#12 by WFH on Saturday, 10 March 2007 - 4:49 am
jonwon, patience is a virtue, agreed. However, just be careful that it doesn’t lead to inertia, which will be the more likely outcome, going by this govt’s track record of issue-after-issue being unactioned when new, fresher, more embarassing, more serious issues emerge. And for sure, this govt WILL continue to faced bigger issues continuously cropping up, because it’s no good at all, in fact incompetent, in covering their misdeeds. Now, THAT they have a consistent record.
#13 by grace on Monday, 12 March 2007 - 9:12 pm
There was no meeting of the Integrity Select Committee yesterday. I have checked with the MPs who attended the PSCI meeting of Feb. 27 and found that there is no clear majority in favour of the cancellation of the March 12 meeting.
Mr. Dompok,
How can you tell such lies? The The Tourism Minsiter Tunku Adnan accused bloggers of telling lies! now we have a clear prove who is telling lies!