Archive for category Corruption
KDM the new underclass in Umno’s Sabah Baru
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah on Monday, 16 April 2007
Sabah is in the throes of a political crisis although it is publicly
denied by the Umno and Barisan Nasional leadership, whether state or national.
There is for instance a lot of play-acting over the shock abrupt resignation of Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat as Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and State Tourism Minister on Friday, with the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi fully endorsing the Sabah Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, in saying that Chong’s resignation was “not really a loss” because it would not weaken the Barisan Nasional state government.
In other words, although Chong was Deputy Chief Minister and one of the key digits in the in the conspiracy and strategy to establish Umno hegemony in Sabah in the early nineties, he is now completely irrelevant and expendable.
It is no surprise therefore that Chong had expressed his “hurt” at the Prime Minister’s dismissive comments about his resignation, telling Oriental Daily News today that the Prime Minister’s comment had wounded his dignity and offended the people of Sabah and the Chinese.
Kah Kiat had maintained that he was quitting the Sabah Cabinet “as a matter of principle” — implying basic and fundamental differences with the Sabah Chief Minister.
The media have reported that ties have been strained between the chief minister and his deputy for some time over numerous issues like Musa’s plans to develop Pulau Sipadan island off Sabah’s east coast, with Malaysiakini citing as ” the final straw” their differences over Chong’s proposal to build a huge statue of the Goddess of Mercy in Kudat as a tourist attraction.
It is clear however to astute political observers that Chong’s resignation is only the tip of the iceberg of what is politically wrong and even rotten in Sabah after Umno’s entry in Sabah and 13 years of Umno and Barisan Nasional control of the Sabah State Government and that the issues at stake are even bigger than Chong’s differences over “principle” with Musa.
What is the cause of the Sabah malaise and crisis? Umno has successfully made its foray into Sabah and established its unquestioned political hegemony in the state in less than a decade, but in the process, it has broken every pledge it had made on entry into Sabah. Read the rest of this entry »
Kah Kiat’s resignation as Sabah DCM no real loss?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Sabah, Sarawak on Saturday, 14 April 2007
Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat’s resignation as Sabah Deputy Chief Minister is “no real loss” to Barisan Nasional. With or without Kah Kiat, it makes no difference to the BN in Sabah.
This is the clear message from the public reaction of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as reported by the Star today:
Chong’s exit not really a loss, says Abdullah
The resignation of Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat is “not really a loss” because it will not weaken the Barisan Nasional state government, said Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The Prime Minister said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Musa Aman had informed him of Chong’s intention to step down, saying he wanted to rest.
He added that there was no other reason than that given by Musa.
“So as far as I am concerned, he will get his wish. Let him rest,” he told reporters yesterday after launching the Conference to Improve the Delivery System of Government Services To Improve the Development Process As Well As Property Management.
Abdullah said Chong’s resignation was not unexpected because the latter had expressed his desire to step down a number of times.
On whether the resignation was a loss, Abdullah said; “Not really a loss in the sense that I don’t think the government of Sabah is going to be weakened with him not being around. But anyway we would like to say ‘thank you’.”
Has Kah Kiat become so irrelevant and inconsequential in Barisan Nasional and Sabah politics as to be shrugged off so ignominously by both the Prime Minister and the Sabah Chief Minister? Read the rest of this entry »
Suspend LKIM chairman and DG until probe of mutual corruption allegations
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Saturday, 14 April 2007
The Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had pledged an “all-out war against corruption” when he succeeded Tun Dr. Mahthir Mohamad in October 2003, but his actions had never belied his word.
Ironically, Abdullah gave two illustrations of the vast gap between his rhetoric and action on the anti-corruption front when he spoke to the press at the launching of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Academy (MACA) on Thursday.
Firstly, Abdullah lashed out at the Chairman and Director-General of the Malaysian Fisheries Development Authority (LKIM) for their public quarrel over allegations of corruption.
LKIM Chairman Adam Abdul Hamid had lodged a report with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) that the agency’s top management had spent RM55 million for its Kg Geluncur complex in Kuala Kedah without open tender.
Adam told New Straits Times (10.4.07) that the complex in Kg Geluncur, completed last year at a cost of RM29 million was unable to be used as the jetty was 10 metres from shore.
As a result, the same contractor was awarded a sand-dredging project to allow sea water to reach the jetty. The fee — RM100 per cubic metre of sand removed when PWD rate is RM30.
There was also a RM8 million land-levelling contract and a RM17.8 million contract to build a 1.8 km access road to the complex — all awarded without open tender.
The LKIM management, under its director-general Datuk Annas Khatib Jaafar, had on its part lodged an ACA report against Adam, who is also chairman of Majuikan Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of LKIM, for secretly giving an offshore loan of 10 million euros (RM46 million) last year.
Abdullah should have suspended both the chairman and director-general of LKIM until outcome of investigations into the mutual allegations of corruption instead of asking them to sweep their differences “under the carpet”, wanting the duo to “sit down and resolve the matter among themselves” rather than going public and making “the public lose confidence in the government”. Read the rest of this entry »
My worst fears confirmed – Abdullah does not read letters sent to him
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Friday, 13 April 2007
My worst fears have been confirmed — the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi does not read letters sent to him or get a briefing on them and these letters disappear into the “black hole” of the Prime Minister’s Department.
When Abdullah was asked yesterday about a Japan Times report which allegedly implicated Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud in a 1.1 billion yen (RM32 million) timber export kickbacks, he said no formal reports had been presented to him.
However, he said, he had asked the ACA to investigate the matter.
This is most shocking indeed as it was exactly a week ago that I had sent him an urgent letter to draw his attention to the Japan Times report asking him to personally reply in Parliament on Monday in the winding-up on the Royal Address debate in view of the recent snowballing of serious corruption allegations against high-profile leaders in his administration.
If the Prime Minister does not read and is not bothered to get briefed about an urgent letter from the Parliamentary Opposition Leader on serious corruption allegations against high-profile leaders in his administration appearing in the international media, gravely undermining Malaysia’s image and international competitiveness, who will expect the Prime Minister to have time for anyone who send him letters, petitions or appeals as their hope of last resort for justice? Read the rest of this entry »
Nazri’s reply in Parliament completely unsatisfactory and unacceptable
Posted by Kit in Corruption, nation building, NEP, Religion, UMNO on Wednesday, 11 April 2007
The reply by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datu Nazri Aziz in the final winding-up of the debate on the Royal Address yesterday is totally unsatisfactory and unacceptable, particularly on four public interest issues of national importance.
As Nazri’s reply blatantly disregarded the paramount principle in nation-building which had recently been enunciated by the Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, MCA Ministers are challenged to speak up in Cabinet to dissociate themselves from Nazri’s reply on four important public interest issues:
- Brain drain with migration overseas of one to two million of the best and brightest of Malaysian sons and daughters for over three decades;
- Education Minister and UMNO Youth leader, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein’s keris-wielding at the recent Umno Youth assembly in the context of rising chauvinist and extremist demands and pressures;
- Rejection of the Inter-Faith Council proposal;
- Worst corruption crisis in nation’s 50-year history.
Nazrin’s keynote address on “Prospects and Challenges of Nation-building” at the Young Malaysians’ Roundtable Discussion on National Unity and Development in Malaysia last week must be compulsory reading for Cabinet Ministers and all Barisan Nasional MPs — and they should be made to pass a test to ensure that they fully understand Nazrin’s speech and grasp the message of the Raja Muda of Perak.
The most important message of Nazrin’s keynote address is that Malaysia belongs to all Malaysians equally, and all have an equal right and responsibility to take ownership of their country and its future, as represented by this declaration: “Malaysians of all races, religions, and geographic locations need to believe beyond a shadow of doubt that they have a place under the Malaysian sun.”
Unfortunately, Nazrin’s message that all Malaysians must have an equal place under the Malaysian sun has not been understood by Nazri, Barisan Nasional Cabinet Ministers and MPs particularly from the MCA. Read the rest of this entry »
Another high-profile corruption allegation – Sarawak CM re 1.1 billion yen timber export kickbacks
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Friday, 6 April 2007
I have today sent an urgent letter to the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to personally reply in Parliament on Monday in the winding-up on the Royal Address debate on high-profile corruption allegations in his administration.
I also drew his attention to the Japan Times report last Thursday, which I described as “the latest instance of more and more adverse international reports about corruption in Malaysia, such as the adverse rankings given to the country by the corruption surveys of the Transparency International and the Political and Economic Risks Consultancy (PERC)” which warrant urgent action by Abdullah to salvage his reform agenda and pledge, in particular to make ant-corruption campaign the top priority of his administration.
The Japan Times report of March 29, 2007 referred to 1.1 billion yen (RM32 million) timber export kickbacks involving companies connected to Sarawak Chief Minister, Tan Sri Taib Mahmud and his family.
The Japan Times report is reproduced as follows:
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wood carriers allegedly hid 1.1 billion yen income
Kyodo NewsNine Japanese shipping companies that transport lumber from Sarawak, Malaysia, allegedly failed to report some 1.1 billion yen of income in total during a period of up to seven years through last March, sources said Wednesday, alleging the money constituted kickbacks to Sarawak officials via a Hong Kong agent.
Such tax irregularities have occurred as the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau determined the companies’ remuneration payments to Regent Star, a Hong Kong agent, which has a connection with Chief Minister of Sarawak Taib Mahmud and his family, were rebates, not legitimate expenses, the sources said.
Although the Hong Kong agency did very little in the way of substantive work, the shipping companies are believed to have used rebates as a lubricant to facilitate their lumber trade, the sources added. Read the rest of this entry »
Highway police extortion
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Thursday, 5 April 2007
Received the following email on the despair and anger of a law-abiding and productive Malaysian professional:
I would like to relate an incident that happened to me and my family on the North-South Highway as we were driving back from Kuala Lumpur to Penang on Monday 2 April 2007. This incident had left me with a feeling of disbelief, anger and fear.
My wife, our 2-year old son and I had just completed an extended week-end trip to Kuala Lumpur. I was driving and we started our journey from Kuala Lumpur at about 7.40 pm. As we approached the Tapah rest area, there was a police roadblock, maybe about 100 metres before the exit to the rest area. This is now 10.15 pm.
I slowed down my car as we got closer, the highway had been partially closed to become a single lane. A policeman who was holding a clipboard or file or some papers appeared to look at it and then at my car. He then indicated to me to move to the roadside.
I duly moved forward and to the left of the highway. A few seconds later, another male policeman came to my car on my side. My car window had already been wound down. He asked for my driver’s license which I handed to him. He took it and appeared to copy down some particulars. I was still inside my car, I have no clue as to what he was actually doing, nor could I see his identification.
Police: Nak ke mana? [Where are you going?]
Me: Balik Penang. [Going back to Penang.]
Very soon after, he mumbled something. As I could not hear him clearly, I asked him to repeat.
Police: Nak selesai sekarang atau nak hantar? [Want to settle now or want it
(summon) sent?]
Me: Pasal apa? [What is it about?]
Police: Bawa laju, 123, Trolak. [Speeding, 123(kmph), Trolak]
Me: Tak mungkin. [Not possible.]
I was convinced, 100% sure and confident that I did not on the entire journey from Kuala Lumpur to Tapah exceed 110 kmph. I was absolutely alert and I had consciously driven conservatively that evening especially with a young child on board. Read the rest of this entry »
Corruption allegations against Zulkipli and Johari – table White Paper in Parliament
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Tuesday, 3 April 2007
The inability of the Prime Minister to announce the new Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general is proof that Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor would have been given a fourth extension as ACA chief if not for the serious corruption allegations made against him by former Sabah ACA director and whistleblower Mohamad Ramli Abdul Manan.
I would have been the first to welcome Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s statement that the new ACA director-general would be announced as soon as possible if the delay to immediately fill the vacancy following the termination of Zulkipli’s contract last Saturday is because the Prime Minister is adopting a new and more consultative process for the appointment of key posts like the ACA chief such as consulting the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity and representative stakeholder organizations and NGOs concerned about national integrity..
However, there are no signs that the delay in the appointment of a new ACA chief is because the Prime Minister is adopting a more transparent and consultative process in the appointment process but because he was caught totally off-guard and unprepared to fill the post as it has become completely untenable to extend Zulkipli’s term when Zulkipli had plunged the ACA and the country into the greatest integrity crisis in the nation’s history.
Although Zulkipli had claimed that his appointment on secondment as ACA director-general and extension of his contract three times showed that the Prime Minister had confidence in him, Zulkipli’s repeated extension as ACA chief will probably go down as one of the biggest failures of Abdullah’s premiership — when a new ACA director-general should have been selected when Zulkipli’s appointment first ended under his premiership on March 31, 2004.
How could Abdullah be serious about his pledge when he became Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election to make anti-corruption the top priority of his administration and a major difference with the previous Mahathir administration when he leaves untouched the person who had headed the ACA with such lacklustre record for the last two years of the 22-year Mahathir premiership? Read the rest of this entry »
Machap by-election – Abdullah/Najib must clear their name over integrity charges by former PM/DPM
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election on Monday, 2 April 2007
Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had said that the Information Ministry would counter all issues, including personal matters of national, state and local leaders, raised by the Opposition in the run-up to the Machap by-election.
In the past few decades, Barisan Nasional had been guilty of blatantly abusing government machinery, resources and funds for political party and personal gain but they had always denied it, trying to camouflage such abuses and political corruption under a fig-leaf of propriety and legitimacy.
But another unhealthy and dangerous precedent has been set, when the Deputy Information Minister blatantly flaunt the abuses of the Information Ministry to serve the Barisan Nasional campaign needs in the Machap by-election — bringing the integrity and morality of the ruling government to a new low at a time when the nation is celebrating 50 years of independence.
However, I agree with Zahid that serious allegations which had been made about abuses of power, malpractices and integrity against top government leaders should be answered in the Machap by-election.
In this connection, I call on the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak to clear their name over the charges made separately by the former Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister affecting their integrity in the Machap by-election.
At the public forum organised by Umno Kulai Besar branch on Thursday, former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad raised the issue of integrity of his successor when he said: “Some leaders, they boast, oh my son is rich… They talk about their AUD25 million home. That’s RM60 million. So strange, to have such a big house ..”
There can be no doubt that Mahathir was referring to Abdullah who must fully clarify the former Prime Minister’s questions about his integrity. Read the rest of this entry »
Machap by-election – suspend Zahid as deputy information minister for violating NIP
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Election on Sunday, 1 April 2007
My first reaction to the Bernama report yesterday, “Info Ministry To Counter All Issues Raised In Machap Polls”, quoting the Deputy Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Zahid Hamidi that the Information Ministry will counter all issues, including personal matters of national, state and local leaders, raised by the Opposition in the run-up to the Machap by-election was whether it was an April Fool’s joke.
Zahid said it was the ministry’s responsibility to explain the truth to the voters on issues highlighted so that they would not be swayed by the baseless allegations.
“Personal issues and allegations on certain leaders are disheartening. I advise Machap voters not to be taken in by DAP speakers harping on personal and private matters,” Zahid told reporters after chairing a meeting on the by-election in Alor Gajah yesterday.
I had wondered whether Zahid was playing an April Fool’s joke on the voters of Machap and the people of Malaysia because no minister or deputy minister had ever been so blatant in 50 years of Malaysian independence in declaring or admitting about the misuse of government machinery, resources and funds in a general election or by-election to support the candidates of the ruling coalition.
For the first time, a deputy information minister had openly confessed that the Information Ministry is part of the election or by-election machinery of the Barisan Nasional, with the entire resources of the Information Ministry commandeered in the campaign of misinformation and disinformation against the Opposition candidate.
This is most shocking, for it marks another low point in the deterioration of public integrity and morality of the Abdullah premiership — where the distinctions between government, political party and personal interests are completely blurred and destroyed, which is the root cause of the galloping corruption and power abuses in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
Consult PSCI on appointment of new ACA DG
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Saturday, 31 March 2007
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 »
Sleaze and crime – cleaning up?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Friday, 30 March 2007
Sleaze saps the prime minister’s election prospects
The Economist
22nd March 2007
CHEERY statements on the economy by Malaysian ministers and the pro-government press are prompting speculation that the prime minister, Abdullah Badawi, will call an election this year, even though he need not do so until 2009. The economy is doing fairly well–although economists think growth will be perhaps 5.5% this year, not 6% as the government predicts. However, hanging over Mr Badawi is his failure to keep his promise to curb official corruption. Two surveys out this month suggest that little progress is being made on this front. Worse, some big sleaze scandals have broken, suggesting that the rot reaches close to the top.
The man who is supposed to lead the clean-up, Zulkipli Mat Noor, the head of the country’s Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), has himself been accused of illicit enrichment by a former underling. In a separate case, a deputy police minister is accused of taking bribes to set criminal suspects free. Mr Badawi has rejected calls to suspend the two officials while the allegations, which both deny, are investigated.
If all this were not disturbing enough, a gruesome murder case involving a government adviser, due in court in June, may prove even more incendiary. Two members of an elite police unit are accused of killing a Mongolian fashion model, whose corpse was apparently blown up with explosives. Abdul Razak Baginda, a political analyst, is accused of abetting them. Mr Razak Baginda is close to Mr Badawi’s deputy as prime minister, Najib Razak, who also oversees the police unit in question. Though Mr Najib has not been accused of any wrongdoing, there is speculation that the trial could force his resignation. Read the rest of this entry »
Is IGP heading police investigation into Zulkipli by “remote control”?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Friday, 30 March 2007
The announcement by the Inspector-General, Tan Sri Musa Hassan that he has directed his officers to record Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor’s statement, with New Straits Times front-page headline “IGP: GRILL ZULKIPLI” – which is reminiscent of a similar NST front-page headline eight days ago, “Johari grilled by ACA – deputy minister’s statement taken IN: 10 am OUT: 10 pm” — has caused many Malaysians to ask whether all this “grilling publicity” is just for the media and news bytes or for real.
Who is heading the 10-member police team to investigate Zulkipli? Is Musa himself personally heading the investigation into Zulkipli? If so, is the IGP leading the operation by “remote control”?
This is because Musa said he had issued the directive on Tuesday when he “instructed Federal CID director Datuk Christopher Wan to have his officers call Zulkipli and record his statement”.
However, Musa declined to say whether this had been done. Reason? “I have not yet been briefed on the progress by my officers.”
It is clear that if Musa is heading the investigation into Zulkipli, he is doing so by “remote control” as he is clearly not conducting a “hands on” operation with him directing all aspects of the investigation.
Is Christopher Wan heading the police investigation into Zulkipli, and if so, why is Musa interfering with the police investigation team which should independently make such a decision (and should have done so already without any “directive” or “green light” from anyone above), and if Wan is not heading the investigation team, why is Musa instructing Wan to interfere with the police investigation?
If neither Musa nor Wan is heading the police investigation into Zulkipli, who is this mysterious police officer spearheading the police investigation that his identity cannot be revealed?
All this hush-hush and strange goings-on only highlight the grave problem of credibility which the police investigation into the serious corruption allegations against Zulkipli is belabouring under, when an independent and impeccable commission must be empanelled to clear the name of the ACA director-general. Read the rest of this entry »
Adorna, post-Adorna, Adorna-like injustices and malpractices in Land Offices
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Thursday, 29 March 2007
Two days ago, I had issued a statement calling on the Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Azmi Khalid to stop sleeping on his job as he had neither done nor said a single word in his three years as Minister in charge of the land portfolio about the gross injustice of the land law which allowed forgery and fraudulent issue and fraudulent transfer of land titles, with hundreds of landowners who have become victims running into tens or even hundreds of millions of ringgit.
It is common sense that an innocent purchaser cannot obtain good title from an impostor, impersonator or forger. Very importantly, a forger cannot pass title by using a fraudulently procured document of title so that even a subsequent innocent purchaser does not get any good title.
However, in land law, as a result of the 2001 Federal Court decision in Adorna Properties Sdn Bhd v Boonsom Bunyanit, there is now a shocking exception — with Section 340 of the National Land Code (NLC) interpreted to favour innocent buyers of land transferred through forgery or fraud, which has destroyed the integrity of land titles and the sanctity of property, leaving the original owners without any means to recover their land.
When Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister, he issued a “wake up call” to all land offices telling them to buck up to do justice to the rightful landowners.
Why has Azmi as the Minister in charge of the land office in the past three years failed to take any action to end the gross injustice in the Adorna case, at least to stop any post-Adorna development with hundreds of landowners falling victim to fraudsters, forgers, impostors and impersonators becoming the “new Adornas” by amending the National Land Code?
I have today another batch of cases involving gross injustices in land administration — involving some 280 plots of land, both residential and agricultural, which changed hands without the knowledge of the landowners in Ulu Yam, Selangor. Read the rest of this entry »
PSCI hearing for Zulkipli/Ramli – review on Tuesday
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Saturday, 24 March 2007
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) will be asked on Tuesday to review the “on/off/on/off hearing of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor and whistleblower/former ACA Sabah director Mohamed Ramli Abdul Manan.
This follows the latest development where Ramli’s counsel, M. Manoharan, had given assurance that the issue of sub judice at the PSCI hearings for Zulkipli and Ramli does not arise as the serious allegations of corruption against Zulkipli has no bearing on Ramli’s civil suits against the ACA chief. The civil suit involved non-payment of salaries, pensions and gratuities.
As for the corruption trial of former minister Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam, both Zulkipli and Ramli are not material witnesses.
Furthermore, the Ramli civil suit could take years to be decided while the Kasitah trial is still in the prosecution stage.
As the PSCI is meeting in Parliament on Tuesday in its continuing inquiry into the Sabah Project I/C scandal, I will raise the letter from Ramli’s counsel and his request for an early date for a hearing for deliberation and decision.
There is now even more compelling reasons why the PSCI should neither flinch nor hesitate from holding hearings for Zulkipli and Ramli if the Select Committee is to remain true to its terms of reference to uphold and promote national integrity. Read the rest of this entry »
Judges who accept bribes – Fairuz must take action or resign as CJ
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Court on Saturday, 24 March 2007
When I was speaking in Parliament on Wednesday during the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the Royal Address and touching on the judiciary as another institution which had suffered in the last 50 years of nationhood in terms of loss of public confidence in its independence, impartiality and integrity, DAP National Chairman and MP for Bukit Glugor Karpal Singh interrupted me to raise a specific question.
Karpal asked whether I agree that as the Chief Justice of Malaysia, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim had made it very clear that there are judges who are corrupt, it has become the duty and responsibility of the Chief Justice to lodge a police report to enable a full investigation to be conducted to ascertain as to who are the corrupt judges.
In my response, I expressed my full agreement that to protect the good name of the judiciary, Tun Ahmad Fairuz should either lodge a police against the corrupt judges who “accept bribes” which he had stated publicly or resign as Chief Justice.
There is actually another option open to the Chief Justice — which is to invoke Article 125(3) of the Federal Constitution to set up a judicial tribunal for the dismissal of the judges who accept bribes. This Article provides that the Chief Justice, after consulting the Prime Minister, is empowered to represent to the Yang di Pertuan Agong for the establishment of a tribunal for the removal of a judge for judicial misconduct.
Tun Ahmad Fairuz must take action against the judges he had accused of taking bribes, whether by lodging a police report or invoking Article 152(3) of the Federal Constitution, and if he not prepared to do either, he should resign as Chief Justice to protect the reputation and integrity of the Malaysian judiciary.
There can be nothing more serious against the reputation and integrity of judges than the charges which the Chief Justice had levelled in his speech during the swearing-in ceremony of eight new judicial commissioners on March 1 – that there are judges who accept bribes. Read the rest of this entry »
Royal Commission of Inquiry on Corruption and ACA
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Thursday, 22 March 2007
Some 40 months after Abdullah’s pledge to “walk the talk” to eradicate corruption, Malaysia is faced with the worst crisis of national integrity in the 40-year history of the Anti-Corruption Agency and 50-year history of the nation, with a spate of corruption scandals in the past two weeks, viz:
- Serious corruption allegations against the Anti-Corruption Agency director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor;
- Serious corruption allegations against the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Mohd Johari Baharun; in the Emergency Ordinance (EO) “freedom for sale” scandal; and
- Serious allegation by the Chief Justice, Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim of judges who accept bribes.
Internationally, Malaysia’s anti-corruption perception had been on a downward spiral ever since Abdullah’s takeover as Prime Minister.
Only last week, there was more bad news for Malaysia and Abdullah’s 40-month premiership.
The Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) 2007 corruption table in Asia, which is released every year based on a poll of expatriates working in Asia on their perceptions on corruption, is bad and grim news for all Malaysians concerned about national integrity, good governance and international competitiveness.
In a grading system with zero as the best possible score and 10 as the worst, Malaysia was ranked sixth in Asia with a score of 6.25 by PERC Corruption Asia 2007.
In 1996, Malaysia was ranked No. 4 with a score of 5, a reflection of the relentless deterioration of the corruption problem in the country over the years.
As the PERC annual corruption ranking is one of the polls used by Transparency International (TI) for its annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI), this is very bad news as the PERC 2007 Corruption Table is a forewarning that Malaysia is heading south towards No. 50 placing in TI CPI 2007 on the occasion of Malaysia’s 50th Merdeka anniversary this year. Read the rest of this entry »
Neither new policy initiative nor legislative programe for the new year
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Thursday, 22 March 2007
As the third annual policy speech of the Abdullah premiership, the Royal Address is a disappointment as it offered neither new policy initiatives nor any legislative programme for the delivery of the Prime Minister’s pledges of an efficient, clean, incorruptible, accountable, transparent, just, democratic and progressive administration which is overdue by 40 months.
Last week, I had publicly urged the Prime Minister to come personally to Parliament on Question Time yesterday to answer the question asking him “to give a progress report on his reform pledges in the past 40 months, highlighting the reasons for the failures/shortfalls and how he could assure Malaysians disappointed that he had failed to ‘walk the talk’ on his reform agenda”.
This is because of the widespread and deep disappointments among Malaysians at the failure of the Prime Minister to live up to the high hopes of Malaysians to “walk the talk” to honour the pledges of reform agenda he had made when coming into office.
This question was “personal to holder” and could only be answered by the Prime Minister himself, as it concerns the pledges he had made when he became Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election for which he won an unprecedented 91% parliamentary majority. It could not be delegated to another Cabinet Minister, whether the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Nazri Aziz or even the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
But this was not to be. Although Abdullah urged Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) members on Monday to perform “something extraordinary” to bring back the glory days of parliamentarians in line with the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations this year, no return of such “glory days” is conceivable firstly, when the Barisan Nasional has a suffocating 91% parliamentary majority and secondly, the Prime Minister stays away from Parliament even on questions directed at him personally.
I believe that the four previous Prime Ministers, from Tunku Abdul Rahman, Tun Razak, Tun Hussein Onn and Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad would not have stayed away from Parliament and delegated away the answer to such a “personal to holder” question.
The Prime Minister’s absence is most telling — for it is as good as an admission that he has very little to show to Parliament and the nation about honouring his reform pledges and agenda in the past 40 months — or he would not have allowed any other Minister to answer the question. Read the rest of this entry »
Should I continue to serve on PSCI?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Wednesday, 21 March 2007
The Sun’s front page headlined it: “On/off/on/off — INTEGRITY PANEL SHIES AWAY FROM GRAFT INQUIRY” while Malaysiakini’s heading for its report yesterday was “Committee cancels ‘ACA hearing’ again” with the following story:
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity today voted to call off a hearing involving Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor and whistleblower Mohamad Ramli Manan.
Explaining the decision, committee chairperson Bernard Dompok told reporters after a 40-minute meeting with committee members that it was due to “new circumstances” surrounding the issue.
The 12-member committee, by a majority vote, decided not to hear Zulkipli and Ramli for the time being until the pending court cases are disposed of.
Ramli recently filed a suit against several relevant parties for back payments of his wages and pension.
Dompok said the committee also took into consideration the issue raised by lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, who is representing former land and cooperative minister Kasitah Gaddam.
“The committee also took into account the concerns raised by the defence counsel for Kasitah Gaddam where the said counsel is contemplating citing Ramli for contempt,” he added.
Last week, Shafee told the Kuala Lumur High Court that the statements made by Ramli, who is the former ACA Sabah director, in his exclusive interview with malaysiakini could potentially prejudice his client’s corruption trial.
Last Monday, the committee had deliberated on the matter and the majority of its members were of the view that the hearing would not be considered subjudice. Read the rest of this entry »
Royal Address Monday – will PM redeem failures of past 40 months to “walk the talk” of reform?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Good Governance on Saturday, 17 March 2007
Every March, the Yang di Pertuan Agong will officially launch Parliament with a Royal Address which spells out the government’s programme for the new year.
The Royal Address is not the personal speech of the Yang di Pertuan Agong but the policy presentation of the government-of-the-day for the next 12 months.
The official opening of the third session of the current 11th Parliament will be on Monday (19th March) by the new Yang di Pertuan Agong for the first time, and Malaysians are entitled to know whether the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi will redeem his failures in the past 40 months to “walk the talk” of reform agenda to spell out the government’s policy initiatives and legislation programme for the coming year to finally deliver his reform pledge.
Let me touch on three areas which should be top priority in the Abdullah government’s policy initiatives and legislation programme for the coming year, if Abdullah is to retain credibility and even legitimacy for his unprecedented 91% parliamentary majority in the March 2004 general election.
Firstly, announce a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and why corruption had worsened in the past three years instead of improving — as reflected not only by the seven-placing drop from No. 37 to 44 in the Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index (CPI) from 2003 to 2006 but also the latest corruption survey last week of Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) that Malaysia is perceived to be more corrupt than the previous year and that Malaysia would soon lose out and be overtaken by China and India in anti-corruption rankings.
The Royal Address on Monday should also incorporate the Abdullah premiership’s commitment to introduce legislation to confer full autonomy to the ACA, removing it from the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister’s Office and making it fully independent and answerable only to Parliament. Read the rest of this entry »
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