Archive for category Corruption
Ramli’s “cold-storage” for investigating Kasitah – Mahathir should agree to appear before PSCI to promote culture of integrity
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Thursday, 15 March 2007
Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad yesterday denied allegations that he was behind the move to “cold storage” former Sabah Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director Mohd Ramli Abdul Manan for investigating a minister, Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam.
In an earlier interview with Malaysiakini, Ramli said he believed that it was the former premier who ordered him to be transferred out of Sabah and was put in “cold storage” at the ACA headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for investigating allegations of corruption involving former land and co-operative development minister Kasitah Gaddam.
He said he moved out of his post as Sabah ACA chief soon after he and his team of 15 officers had completed the probe on Kasitah Gaddam.
This is from Ramli’s interview with Malaysiakini:
Q. Was the ACA happy with the investigation?
They were not happy because a lot of political figures and a government company were involved.
Q. What happened after you finished your investigation?
We file it to the ACA headquarters.
Q. Who gave the orders to move you out of Sabah?
I think (it was ex-Prime Minister Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) because when I ask them (ACA officers), they said it was orders from high up. That was in 2000.
A few Sabah ministers went to see Mahathir but I have no proof (of that). I asked ‘why are you all treating me like this’, and they said orders from the top. Who else? And they were afraid to put me in an important position (after that). Why were they afraid?
Q. Like (ACA chief) Zulkipli (Mat Noor), attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail is also from Sabah.
That was what I told the police officer (who was investigating the Zulkipli case). Gani Patail should not be involved in the (Zulkipli) case because they (Abdul Gani and Zulkipli) are quite close.
Both were recruited by Mahathir. At that time, Gani Patail was the deputy public prosecutor (DPP) and Zul was the Special Branch chief in Sabah. Read the rest of this entry »
Corruption ranking – Malaysia heading south: No 50 in TI CPI 2007 on Malaysia’s 50th national anniversary?
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Wednesday, 14 March 2007
More bad news for the country and the 40-month Abdullah premiership on the anti-corruption front, although some media, whether intentionally or otherwise, seems to be presenting it as a plus and positive for Malaysia.
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.
There are many grim warnings from the 2007 PERC Corruption Table (Asia) that Malaysia is losing out in our international competitiveness because of our failure to enhance our good governance indicators, particularly in the war against corruption.
It will not be long before Malaysia slips further in the Asian and international corruption rankings, as we are also losing out to China and India. Read the rest of this entry »
PM – deliver Mission 2004 before trotting out Mission 2057!
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Tuesday, 13 March 2007
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced yesterday that the Barisan Nasional (BN) Supreme Council has decided on “Mission 2057” to ensure continued development in all aspects since independence and after Vision 2020 had been achieved. “Mission 2057” would become the development guideline for another 50 years.
It sounded a rather tall tale that the BN Supreme Council met yesterday to take the policy decision to formulate Mission 2057, when it is not only dubious that Vision 2020 could be achieved but very clear that Abdullah’s Mission 2004 is heading towards a big flop.
Before Abdullah trots out Mission 2057 about Malaysia in another half-a-century, he should deliver Mission 2004 which he had promised in the 2004 general election to lead an efficient, clean, incorruptible, accountable, transparent, just, democratic and progressive administration which is prepared to hear the truth from the people — and for which he had won the unprecedented victory of 91 per cent of parliamentary seats which had never been achieved by the previous four Prime Ministers.
When he became the fifth Prime Minister in November 2003, Abdullah pledged to make anti-corruption the top agenda and proclaimed “zero tolerance for corruption”.
To mark the first three months of his premiership, Abdullah reiterated in an interview with senior editors of major newspapers his priority commitment to change the mindset of Malaysians to match the country’s first-class infrastructure with a first-class mentality, including the eradication of public and private sector corruption.
On his first 100 days as Prime Minister, Abdullah declared in his address to the Cambridge Foundation on 10th February 2004: “My first 100 days was my statement of intent. Now we get to work and walk the talk.”
However, after the unprecedented 91% parliamentary majority victory in the March 2004 general election, Abdullah had forgotten his declaration of “zero tolerance for corruption” or his pledge to make the fight against corruption as the top priority of his administration, as his “statement of intent” of his first 100 days remained mere “statement of intent” for the next 1,115 days till today without any “walk the talk” whatsoever. Read the rest of this entry »
Corrupt to the core!
Posted by Kit in Azly Rahman, Corruption on Monday, 12 March 2007
Corrupt to the core!
Azly Rahman
[email protected]
Hai orang-orang yang beriman, makanlah di antara rezeki yang baik yang Kami berikan kepadamu dan bersyukurlah kepada Allah, jika benar hanya kepada-Nya kamu berserah (Al-Baqarah:172).
This comes from the website of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), whose slogan is Tingkatkan integriti, Hapuskan rasuah.
I am tired of contradictions. And of slogans. The nation is tired of them too.
Who but the ACA can we turn to report corrupt people, corrupt practices? We have become a pathetic nation made helpless by the revelations we are reading daily. Things are falling apart.
Yet we have a general election coming – one in which even the Election Commissions itself cannot claim to be independent. How many dozen ‘Royal Commissions’ of Inquiry have we asked to be set up since Independence to help us uncover truths – how many have materialised?
We no longer have any shame as a nation. Even worse, we still vote for vultures.
Corruption runs in the veins of the body politic – in business, politics, religion, education, culture, etc. Even in our mind. Even in our language.
Consider the Approved Permit issue, the half-bridge to Sinagpore, the ECM Libra-Avenue Capital merger, you name it…we do not know where these cases are going. History tells us that we will not see consequences, nor see anyone resigning voluntarily. We do not have any shame. Unlike the Japanese.
Even our universities are seeing corrupt practices. We see students thrown out for speaking up, academicians axed for taking a stand, lecturers made to feel good about how moral and benevolent the government is, and how academic-cronyism is taking shape.
Conferences in public universities are about discussing feel-good themes, presenting papers to make feel-good communalistic ideologies feel elevated, and going into academic detail of how to parrot government propaganda better. How do we expect to produce critical thinkers among graduates when critical analyses about our society are seldom produced and presented. From our public universities to our think tanks, we see lethargy in the way we view society and politics.
Our consciousness has been corrupted by the fear, fantasy and fetish we have structured into our mind though a funneling process of depthlessness of thought. Only if we had the Malaysian version of the great Argentine medical-doctor turned social messiah, Che Guevara, as education minister, We would see true transformation of the education to fight corruption of the soul, mind, and flesh. Read the rest of this entry »
“Free fall of institutions” – can PSCI prove Tun Hanif wrong?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Sunday, 11 March 2007
The longest-serving former Inspector-General of Police, Tun Hanif Omar, in his Sunday Star column “Point of View” today dealt the serious corruption allegations which had been made against the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor by former top ACA officer and “whistleblower” Mohamad Ramli Manan in July last year.
Entitled “Panta Rei — It’s inexorable”, Hanif wrote:
If we recall the reported course of events in the ACA director-general’s case, an ACA director had reported by letter to the IGP on July 4 last year against his DG and another, asking the IGP to treat the letter as a first information report. It is reported that he had also sent copies of the letter to the AG, among others…
In this particular case, there was no apparent useful response from the police or the others from July 4, 2006, to perhaps early March 2007. It would be interesting to know why. This inordinate delay could have been the cause of the complainant reporting to Parliament’s Select Committee on Integrity and Corruption. To the credit of the PSC, it acted expeditiously to make known that it would convene an enquiry into the allegations on March 12 by calling both complainant, the ACA director-general, as well as the previous IGP to clarify the situation. This was a far-reaching decision that could have made an enormous impact on the current battle against malfeasance and injustice.
The action of the PSC has served notice that proper redress must be given to a citizen’s grievances and that Parliament would hold the public services to account. In one fell stroke it had brought the tipping point closer. Read the rest of this entry »
BN Supreme Council meeting – any BN leader dare to raise hottest topic in the country?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Politics on Sunday, 11 March 2007
The Barisan Nasional supreme council will meet in Kuala Lumpur tomorrow where party component leaders are expected to assess their preparations for the next general election.
All the heads of the 14 component parties were informed last week to attend the meeting but they were not given any indication of its agenda.
Will there be any Barisan Nasional leader who would dare to raise at the Barisan Nasional supreme council meeting tomorrow the hottest topic in the country –the Prime Minister’s three-year failure to deliver his top agenda to fight corruption and how to restore public confidence that the Abdullah premiership had not abandoned its anti-corruption pledge?
At his first Cabinet meeting as Prime Minister on 5th November 2003, Abdullah directed Ministers to set up a task force in their ministries to tighten procedures and reduce bureaucracy in efforts to fight corruption. Nothing has been heard of these Ministerial task forces.
At the post-Cabinet press conference, Abdullah even spoke of his hope to achieve “zero corruption” but admitted that it was going to be difficult.
Apart from the run-up to the March 2004 general election campaign, Abdullah’s focus on his priority to fight corruption had increasingly lessened with the passage of time and the terms “zero corruption” or “zero tolerance for corruption” have disappeared from his vocabulary. Read the rest of this entry »
PSC Integrity meeting on Monday – Zulkipli and Ramli should voluntarily attend
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Saturday, 10 March 2007
The Monday (March 12) meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) will be held as fixed although with an altered agenda.
The March 12 meeting had been decided by the PSCI at its meeting on 27th Feb. 2007 to hear the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor and former top ACA officer and “whistleblower”, Mohamad Ramli Manan on serious allegations of corruption in the ACA; but the Chairman of PSCI, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok, who is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had on Thursday arbitrarily and unilaterally made a shock announcement of its cancellation in view of police investigations against Zulkifli and the filing of lawsuits by Ramli against his former boss and several government agencies.
I had faxed a protest to Bernard yesterday asking that the PSCI meeting on March 12 should be held as scheduled to hear Zulkipli and Ramli or to reconsider whether to hear the duo and the Select Committee’s role in the latest developments raising fundamental questions about national integrity, in particular in ACA and Police.
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 has agreed that the PSCI meeting on Monday should proceed as scheduled to consider whether Zulkipli and Ramli should appear before the Select Committee. A new notice from Parliament informing all MPs on the PSCI of the Monday meeting had been sent out yesterday.
Although the invitation to Zulkipli and Ramli to the Select Committee meeting on Monday had been cancelled earlier and they had accordingly been informed, both of them should voluntarily attend the PSCI meeting in Parliament on Monday to honour their public undertaking of their preparedness to appear and tell all about the serious corruption allegations in the ACA. Read the rest of this entry »
Is ACA chief Zulkifli the cause for the cancellation of the PSCI meeting on Monday?
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Parliament on Friday, 9 March 2007
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. Read the rest of this entry »
Monday PSCI meeting on Zulkifli/Ramli cancelled because of ulterior and improper pressures?
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Thursday, 8 March 2007
I was shocked when I was informed by the press at about 3 pm about the cancellation of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) meeting on Monday, March 12, 2007 to hear the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor and former top ACA officer and “whistleblower”, Mohamad Ramli Manan on serious allegations of corruption in the ACA. The announcement had been made by the PSCI Chairman Tan Sri Bernard Compok.
I was formally informed of the cancellation of the PSCI meeting by a parliamentary officer at 4.40 p.m. by phone, who told me that the Secretary to Parliament, Datuk Mahmood bin Adam, had signed the notice for the cancellation of the PSCI meeting on Monday for it to be faxed out to the PSCI committee members.
This must be the first time in the history of Parliamentary Select Committees not only in Malaysia but in the Commonwealth where the media are given earlier notice than the MPs concerned of the cancellation of a Select Committee meeting.
As the March 12 meeting to hear Zulkipli and Ramli was the formal decision of the PSCI meeting on Feb. 28, when it met to deal with issues concerning the scourge of the false identity card rackets in Sabah, any cancellation of the Monday meeting could only be made by the PSCI itself and not improperly and unilaterally by the Chairman, Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.
As PSCI Chairman, Bernard must not buckle down to ulterior and improper pressures to unilaterally cancel the Parliamentary Select Committee meeting on Monday to hear Zulkipli and Ramli on ACA corruption . Read the rest of this entry »
Combat corruption – last opportunity for Abdullah to prove he means business
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Thursday, 8 March 2007
Question One: Who is investigating the serious corruption allegations against the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor?
Answer: Police
Question Two: Who is investigating the serious corruption allegations against Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Mohd Johari Baharum for “freedom for sale” corruption?
Answer: ACA.
Question Three: Will the ACA on the one hand and the Police and Internal Security Ministry on the other scratch each other’s back and exonerate one another?
Who can give a categorical answer in the negative? In fact, will the majority of Malaysians give “Yes” instead of “No” to the question? Read the rest of this entry »
“Freedom for Sale” scandal – IGP and Dy Minister forced to “smoke peace-pipe”
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Tuesday, 6 March 2007
The RM5.5 million “freedom for sale” allegations have ballooned out to become a major scandal of the Abdullah premiership, affecting the efficiency, professionalism and integrity not only of the police and the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom but also the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is also the Internal Security Minister.
This scandal should not have happened if the 125 recommendations of the Royal Police Commission to establish an efficient, incorruptible, professional world-class police service had been taken seriously by the Prime Minister, Cabinet and the Police and the Independent Police Complaints and Misconduct Commission (IPCMC) been set up and running.
Malaysians are shocked by the revelations of the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and Johari in their attempt to blame the other party for the RM5.5 million “freedom for sale” scandal.
Subsequent attempts by both of them to retract or clarify their statements have failed to minimize the damage of their earlier utterances which constitute damning evidence that something is very rotten with the administration of justice and the upholding of law and order in the country. Read the rest of this entry »
RM5 million “Freedom for Sale” scandal – call for Royal Commission of Inquiry
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Monday, 5 March 2007
The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s response today to the recent spate of reports alleging high-profile corruption in his administration is very weak, lackluster and most disappointing, reinforcing public exasperation at his lack of political will to “walk the talk” to root out corruption and lead an administration which has zero tolerance for corruption.
Speaking at the monthly assembly of the Prime Minister’s Department, Abdullah gave the assurance that action will be taken against those involved in corruption, while those who do not indulge in such practices should have no fear.
He said: “Of course no one wants corruption. Action must be taken. Those who are innocent need not worry.”
He pointed out that what was important was that investigations on allegations of corruption must be carried out in the most just manner.
He even said that generally 85 percent of the reports submitted pertaining to accusations of corrupt practices were unfounded.
Abdullah seems to be unaware that his administration which in a fortnight’s time will be marking the third anniversary of its unprecedented landslide 2004 general election victory on a platform of anti-corruption is facing a crisis of confidence, firstly, because of the failure to produce results in the anti-corruption front and secondly because of the recent spate of allegations of high-profile corruption, such as involving the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General, Datuk Seri Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor and the latest involving Deputy Internal Security Minister Datuk Mohd Johari Baharom – that the latter had received a bribe of over RM5 million for the release of three criminals who had been detained under the Emergency Ordinance.
This is not the time for Abdullah to trot out pedestrian and uninspiring statements of “Have No Fear If You’re Clean” to top political and government leaders, but to convince Malaysians, intending foreign investors and the international community of his political will and commitment to combat corruption at all levels of society by ensuring that anti-corruption investigations into the recent spate of high-level corruption allegations would be conducted by an independent and fearless body which will command unchallenged national and international confidence.
For this reason, I call on the Cabinet on Wednesday to set up a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the “freedom for sale” corruption scandal to stop the latest haemorrhage of public confidence in the political will and commitment of the Prime Minister to root out high-level corruption. Read the rest of this entry »
ACA trying to derail task force investigations into ACA chief’s corruption allegations?
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Monday, 5 March 2007
Investigations into the serious corruption allegations against the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor is getting even more curiouser and curiouser by the day.
The attempt by ACA’s former Disciplinary Management Centre chief and currently ACA Negri Sembilan director, Halim Ibrahim to publicly exonerate the ACA chief by revealing details of Zulkipli’s various declaration of assets in public service is not only most unusual, unprecedented but questionable.
Is the ACA trying to derail and sabotage task force investigations into serious corruption allegations against ACA chief by unilaterally releasing unverified information about Zulkifli’s assets declarations? Read the rest of this entry »
ACA DG Zulkipli’s three declarations of assets do not tally with two vettings stated by PM
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Sunday, 4 March 2007
The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)’s former Disciplinary Management Centre chief and currently ACA Negri Sembilan director, Halim Ibrahim did a most unusual thing for the ACA yesterday — publicly exonerating the ACA Director-General Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor by revealing details of Zulkipli’s various declaration of assets in public service. (New Sunday Times)
Zulkipli had made the declaration on three occasions since 1988.
The first declaration, approved in 1999, was when Zulkipli was Johor police chief.
The second declaration on Sept 14, 2003, was said to be approved by the then Chief Secretary to the Government on March 25, 2004.
The third declaration was sent to the Public Service Department on July 7 last year.
Halim said Zulikipli listed five properties — none in Pagoh, Johor, and no business interests –in his declaration of assets to the department.
I do not wish here to dwell on the details of Zulkipli’s three declarations of assets publicly disclosed by Halim.
While welcoming such publication, ACA should as a matter of policy and principle adopt an open and transparent culture and not be selective in releasing information to suit the needs of its masters, whether political or bureaucratic. Read the rest of this entry »
RM5 million for freedom from EO detention – Deputy Minister alleged must go on indefinite leave until cleared
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Sunday, 4 March 2007
The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director of investigations, Mohd Shukri Abdul told the Sunday Star that the ACA “has begun investigating the senior politician who allegedly accepted more than RM5 million to assist in freeing several suspects detained under the Emergency Ordinance (EO)”.
Mohd Shukri said “they have identified the politician and also the witnesses allegedly involved”.
I am baffled by the latter statement, as what is there for the ACA to “identify” when the “senior politician” was named in the allegations posted on the Internet revealed by the Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan in the Star report yesterday which first broke the story.
In yesterday’s Star front-page report, “Freedom for RM5m”, Musa said at least two websites had posted allegations and details of involvement of “a high-ranking politician”, who was allegedly paid at least RM5 million to free suspects from detention under the Emergency Ordinance (EO).
Although Musa said that two websites carried these allegations, I have only seen one of them which named the “senior politician” who is a Deputy Minister.
As reported by the New Sunday Times, the Deputy Minister is alleged to have been involved “in the improper release of three men suspected of being in a secret society and other illegal activities, including loan sharking, extortion, prostitution, assault and gambling”.
Although the Deputy Prime Minister, Datuki Seri Najib Razak has said that nobody was above the law and those who broke it would face action, his statement had been undermined and even contradicted by the Deputy Internal Security Minister, Datuk Foo Ah Kiow who denied (Sin Chew) that there had been any improper political influence to free suspects from detention under the Emergency Ordinance.
As the Deputy Minister alleged to have been paid at least RM5 million for the improper release of three suspects under the Emergency Ordinance has been named in the website referred to by the Inspector-General of Police, the Deputy Minister concerned should step forward publicly to declare his innocence. Read the rest of this entry »
“Judges who accept bribes” – Ahmad Fairuz must take action or step down as Chief Justice
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Court on Saturday, 3 March 2007
The Chief Justice Tun Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim dropped a bombshell at the swearing-in ceremony of eight new judicial commissioners in Putrajaya on Thursday when he exposed gross judicial misconduct in the judiciary, including:
- Judges who accept bribes;
- Judges who were often seen socializing with lawyers, prosecutors and corporate figures while hearing their cases in court; and
- Judges who were “constantly angry and foul-tempered”.
Ahmad Fairuz may have to step down as Chief Justice for tarnishing the image of the judiciary if he is not prepared to take action and substantiate his grave charges of judges accepting bribes or guilty of misconduct in acting unethically in socializing with parties while hearing their cases.
The Chief Justice had used the plural when he “hit out at judges who accept bribes”. Had he initiated action against “judges who accept bribes” under Article 124 of the Federal Constitution for the establishment of the judicial tribunal to remove these “rogue judges” or at least lodged police reports against them for full investigations to be started?
If Ahmad Fairuz had not initiated any action against “judges who accept bribes”, then the Chief Justice would be guilty of being a party to the commission of serious crimes which would not be compatible with his continued tenure as the highest judicial officer of the land. If he could not substantiate his allegation of judges accepting bribes, then he had made a most reckless and irresponsible statement seriously tarnishing the image of the judiciary.
Furthermore, what action had Ahmad Fairuz taken against judges for the judicial misconduct and unethical behaviour of “often seen socializing with lawyers, prosecutors and corporate figures” while hearing their cases in court or for “being constantly angry and bad-tempered”? Read the rest of this entry »
Corruption allegations against ACA DG – AG and IGP should also appear before PSCI
Posted by Kit in Corruption, Police on Friday, 2 March 2007
Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor and former top ACA officer and “whistleblower”, Mohamad Ramli Manan’s full preparedness to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) on March 12 is most commendable.
Zulkipli told Bernama that he was ready to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on March 12 with detailed evidence against the serious corruption allegations made against him, declaring: “I have the confidence and courage to face the problem because I believe in God and only a person with guilt needs to be afraid.”
Ramli in his interview with the New Straits Times “vowed to tell all” to the Select Committee, declaring: “There is nothing to hide. I will be there.”
Zulkipli and Ramli should honour their public undertaking “to tell all” to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity as any refusal or reluctance by anyone of them to do so will immediately be an adverse reflection on his credibility and integrity.
The Inspector-General of Police, Tan Sri Musa Hassan and the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patil should also appear before the Select Committee to explain the reasons for the dilatory and unsatisfactory investigations into the serious corruption allegations against Zulkipli in the past ten years. Read the rest of this entry »
Sack Zulkipli as ACA DG for telling lie that he had been cleared of serious corruption allegations
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Thursday, 1 March 2007
The case of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General, Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor is getting curiouser and curiouser – panning out even to raise serious questions about the efficiency, competence and credibility of the Police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Cabinet and the Prime Minister.
Firstly, the Sun today in its front-page headline story, “Papers with AG — Police resubmit investigation file on ACA chief to Attorney-General” reported the disclosure by the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan that Kuala Lumpur police investigated the complaints on sexual crimes and assault allegedly committed by Zulkipli against a housewife in 1997 and later submitted investigation papers to the AG’s Chambers.
However, as the AG had not reverted to the police on the next course of action, a fresh submission was made yesterday.
The New Straits Times in its front-page report “GRAFT AND SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS – SPEED UP PROBE ON ACA CHIEF — Attorney-general tells IGP” tells quite a different story.
NST quoted the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail that Zulkipli was cleared years ago of a claim of sexually abusing a woman after a thorough investigation into the sexual assault allegation in July 1997. The police investigation papers (IP) were submitted to the AG’s chambers on Oct. 24, 1997, and the AG’s Chambers found there were no grounds to prosecute Zulkipli, and the case was filed as “No Further Action” (NFA) needed.
Secondly, on the serious corruption charges against Zulkipli, the IGP was conspicuously silent but the NST reported Gani as saying that he had told Musa “to speed up the investigations into these allegations”.
Gani said the investigations would include checks against the asset declaration made by Zulkipli — “We compare these asset declarations to how one pays or finances one’s properties”, which would include “checks on the financial position of one’s family members to ascertain their contribution to the household income”.
Here Zulkipli is caught “red-handed” telling a lie that he had been cleared of serious corruption charges made against him, as he told the NST in its report yesterday: “Zulkipli called the charges ‘baseless’ and said prior to his appointment as director-general, he had been vetted and cleared by both the ACA and police.” Read the rest of this entry »
Zulkipli and Ramli’s date with Parliamentary Select Committee – March 12
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Wednesday, 28 February 2007
Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor has responded to very serious allegations of “being a very corrupt senior police officer who had amassed substantial property and assets through corrupt means” made against him by a former top ACA officer, Mohamad Ramli Manan while still in service in July last year before his retirement on December 8, 2006.
Zulkipli told New Straits Times: “Let the law take its course”.
He said that the allegations were “part and parcel of the agency’s operations”
He added:
“There are a lot of challenges in our line of work. Some (people) may be happy, some, of course, may not. The bottom line is justice must be done.
“In this context, certainly I do not want to get involved in matters, issues or allegations that have the tendency to belittle or tarnish the good image of an individual.”
Apart from the “Let the law take its course” statement, Zulkipli’s comments are not helpful at all in throwing light on the very serious corruption allegations which had been made against him by Ramli. The ACA head seems to have mastered the art of making statements which mean nothing at all.
While the law must undoubtedly be allowed to “take its course”, the immediate concern of all Malaysians serious about the pledge of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he became the fifth Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election campaign to give top priority to anti-corruption is whether Zulkipli can continue to helm the ACA with these serious corruption allegations hanging over his head. Or whether the ACA will be further incapacitated with such a person as its head. Read the rest of this entry »
ACA Zulkipli must establish his integrity or be removed immediately
Posted by Kit in Corruption on Tuesday, 27 February 2007
The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor should appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to clear all doubts that he is qualified to continue to helm the anti-corruption agency.
I will propose at today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee that Zulkipli be summoned to appear at an emergency meeting to respond to various serious allegations which had been made against him, ranging from corruption to sexual crimes, which must not remain unrebutted so as to salvage the credibility, legitimacy and authority of the ACA.
If Zulkipli is not prepared to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee to establish his integrity in an emergency meeting, he must be removed as the ACA head. The Cabinet should put this item on the top of its agenda at its meeting tomorrow.
Malaysiakini yesterday reported these allegations which were filed last year by former ACA officer Mohamad Ramli Manan to the then inspector-general of police Mohd Bakri Omar.
In the July 4, 2006 report, Ramli named the ACA chief – who is a former top cop – and referred to him as ‘B1’.
“As you are aware, B1 was a member of your police force and his last appointment there was as Sarawak chief police officer. It has come to the knowledge of the ACA that B1 was a very corrupt senior police officer and had amassed substantial property and assets through corrupt practices,” he told Mohd Bakri in his report.
Ramli claimed that in 1997 – when Zulkipli was Johor police chief – the ACA had then learnt that he was “in possession of properties disproportionate to his known source of income” and had indulged in “immoral and criminal” activities.
Apart from this, Ramli also disclosed that the police had allegedly investigated Zulkipli in connection with a sexual crime following a report filed by a housewife with the Dang Wangi police station in Kuala Lumpur. Read the rest of this entry »
-
You are currently browsing the archives for the Corruption category.
