Mr PM, let me tell you why we are worried: Cow-gate, Cop-gate, AG-gate and now Anak-gate

Written by Robert Phang

Prime Minister Najib Razak must lead the way, show true reforms and avoid cover-ups. The government’s objective of making crime reduction one of the National Key Result Areas (NKRA) is now showing results. According to the World Justice Project Rule of Law Index 2011 Report, Malaysia was ranked the safest country in the Asia Pacific Region.

All these are marked improvements of the image of the PDRM than when it was under the previous IGP, Musa Hassan. During Musa Hassan’s time, the PDRM was despised, the Along money-lending syndicate became a national menace and the crime rate was high especially street crimes. In short, Malaysians feel unsafe then. Some may say that was all in the past. But the past shapes the present and the future.

Police need to buck or fall behind

In that regard I feel compelled to remind the PDRM that the positive image now can slide back to what it was before. I feel compelled to remind PDRM that it must not be a law enforcement agency that is involved in cover-ups in protecting only the rich and powerful. As such, current CCID Director, Dato’ Syed Ismail Syed Azizan, must be commended for announcing that the police had recommended for prosecution action in the NFC “Cowgate” scandal. This had forced AG Gani Patail to finally charge Shahrizat Jalil’s husband, the Chairman of the NFC, for CBT. That unconventional announcement was a very brave and smart move by Syed Ismail so that there cannot be a cover-up for which the police will be made to take the blame. That really helped improve the image of the PDRM in the eyes of the Rakyat.

As a Friend of the Police, I call on the Rakyat not to misconstrue the statement made by the Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein about the revelations made by former CCID Director Dato Ramli Yusuff of the cover-ups, fixing-ups, fabrications and abuses of power by Musa Hassan and AG Gani Patail in what is now known as the “CopGate Affair”. What Minister Hishammuddin had really said was “Prove it, and we will take action. No one is above the law”. Thus, we must take that positively.

Police duty to investigate and not kow-tow to AG

Since Hishammuddin has asked for proof, YDH IGP Ismail Omar must now take the Minister seriously and direct investigations by his officers. The police powers to investigate crimes are prescribed by the Police Act. If I may, IGP Ismail Omar can show his seriousness, objectivity and professionalism to uncover the truth and obtain evidence by taking the following steps:

> exclude CID Director, Bakri Zinin, from this investigation. This is to protect Bakri Zinin from any allegations of being connected to AG Gani Patail as Bakri is also from Sabah;

> direct independent minded investigators like CCID Director Syed Ismail who is not easily intimidated by AG Gani Patail as has been shown in “Cowgate”;

> not to allow circumvention of police work by any politician, no matter how high that politician may be, from carrying out police duties as that is the oath of duty of a professional police force;

> leave no stones unturned of all the reports made by Dato’ Ramli Yusuff against AG Gani Patail and Musa Hassan that have now been in the public domain for some time, namely investigate:

a) the truths of the SD by Musa Hassan’s ADC of his complicity with the underworld;

b) the truths of 10 other SDs by the other policemen;

c) the truths of the SDs by the other informants about the turning over of their informant’s evidence;

d) the cover- ups for Goh Cheng Poh in the Along syndicate investigations and the circumvention of police work in that case;

e) the unlawful access of Cicero confidential files;

f) abdication of AG’s duties under Art 145 Federal Constitution by refusing to act for and prepare affidavits for CCID;

g) fixing-up of Dato’ Ramli and his six officers by using the fabricated statement of Moo Sai Chin who was then under EO Detention;

h) fixing-up of Dato’ Ramli’s lawyer;

i) AG’s complicity in the matters concerning Tajudin Ramli/MAS and whether there was suppression of evidence;

j) AG’s refusal to prosecute Tajudin Ramli despite the recommendation of the CCID;

k) relationship between AG Gani Patail with Tajudin’s proxy, Shahidan Shafie. It is noted that Shahidan was previously charged for corruption while he was OC Secret Societies of Johor;

l) whether it is proper conduct for an Attorney-General to fraternize with a person of ill- repute (Shahidan Shafie) especially when that person is connected to an on-going investigations by the Police and the MACC. Their consorting together is evident as exposed in the Haj scandal with photographs and other supporting Tabung Haji documents;

m) AG’s complicity in the Ho Hup corporate tussle as evidenced by photographs of the A-G at Ho Hup’s office and the prosecution of the other side.

Not for Nazri to decide

The Rakyat is disappointed that the Speaker of Parliament had rejected the urgent motion by Subang MP R Sivarasa for this matter to be debated in Parliament last Wednesday. The integrity of AG Gani Patail impacts on the whole system of justice in this country. The Rakyat sees this refusal to allow parliamentary debate on a matter of such importance as a cover-up.

To dispel this negative perception, I ask IGP Ismail Omar to discharge his constitutional duties to investigate without fear or favor. I ask Ismail Omar to disregard the misconceived statements of Nazri Aziz that the government will not investigate this further. It is not for the Minister to state whether the complicity of AG Gani Patail should be investigated just as it is not for that Minister to direct GLCs to settle their cases with Tajudin Ramli.

Anak-gate : Where did the lawless son get so much money?

Nazri may be the Law Minister, but he has no legal nor moral authority to tell the police how to carry out the law if he cannot control his lawless son and his bodyguards in connection with the recent assault of a security guard. According to the police reports made available to me, Nazri’s son had even used his father’s Minister’s name card to introduce his entourage. Is that not abuse of power? The Rakyat is not amused that the case has been classified as Affray under s. 160 Penal Code. Affray is fighting in a public place. His son’s body guards trespassed onto private property and assaulted a security guard. How could that be an affray?

Beyond that, the Rakyat ponders how did Nazri’s son afford such luxurious cars - a Porsche driven by him and a Toyota Vellfire by his bodyguards? Why did he need bodyguards? What business is he in? Are we seeing further examples of “Cowgate” amongst the families and sons of Ministers who live in absolute opulence whereas the Rakyat are told to be thrifty and constantly reminded of rising inflation and high cost of living.The MACC should look into whether this Minister’s family is living beyond their means or having unusual wealth. After all, that is what all civil servants are subjected to under the MACC Act. So, it is better that Nazri controls his “anak jantan” and his entourage to behave in accordance with the law than for him to meddle in the affairs of the police.

The IGP must direct PDRM to act independently. That is how checks and balances in government institutions are maintained so that the Rakyat can feel safe and secure. Politicians come and go but the institution of the police cannot be made to succumb to their whims and fancies.

Too much evidence against Gani Patail to ignore

The evidence already in the public domain against AG Gani Patail are just too numerous for the government to ignore. As such, on behalf of the Rakyat I beg PM Najib to hear the Rakyat’s voice. The PM should know that the Rakyat is unhappy that he has said that it is not necessary to constitute a tribunal to look into this. The Rakyat wonders why the government must defend this AG until it affects the credibility of PM Najib’s government. This may only fuel suspicion that AG Gani Patail and Musa Hassan have a hold on the PM and other government leaders. PM Najib must dispel this by taking firm action.

PM Najib must not lose the plot. PM Najib has already shown that he will walk the talk when it comes to the Rakyat. I am sure PM Najib is sensitive to the Rakyat’s feelings. He is already popular with the reforms undertaken so far. So, let it not be dampened by the allegations surrounding AG Gani Patail. The Rakyat will support PM Najib in all his reform plans especially when the Rakyat trust there is no cover-ups.

Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin is a prominent civil society leader, a Justice of Peace and a former member of the MACC advisory panel

The A-G and the Former Inspector-General of Police, and an Underworld Boss and the Law

by Hafiz Yatim@www.malaysiakini.com

EXCLUSIVE New information shedding more light on a bizarre five-year-old case allegedly involving the country's most powerful police officer, the attorney-general and an underworld figure has emerged.

Malaysiakini has possession of documents revealing the history of how a number of whistleblowers - whose information lead to the arrest of Johor crime kingpin, Goh Cheng Poh aka Tengku Goh in 2007 - were forced to implicate six police officers investigating the case.

The whistleblowers signed sworn statements claiming that they were turned over by a team of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers. The ACA has since morphed into the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) in 2009.

The six Police Officers were subsequently charged with fabricating evidence against Tengku Goh - an alleged gambling and money-laundering kingpin - only to be eventually acquitted, the last of them in mid-2011.Their four-year ordeal began when they, on the orders of then Deputy Home Minister Johari Baharum, began investigating Tengku Goh (For his role in this convoluted scandal, Johari himself was accused of corruption and was investigated by ACA - see 'Tit for tat' chart below).

He had instructed then Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) chief Ramli Yusuff, previously Pahang police chief, to take on the menace.

Ramli assembled a team of half a dozen men which and during the course of their work unearthed the role of Musa Hassan (left), the former Johor police chief who in 2006 was tapped as the Inspector-General of Police.

The CCID probe revealed that while Musa - during his stint in Johor - had closed down most of the gambling and money-lending syndicates in the southern state, he however helped to "reorganise" the remainder few to operate under an "umbrella" syndicate controlled by Tengku Goh.

Armed with information from underworld informants, the CCID arrested Tengku Goh and he was dispatched to remote Jeli, Kelantan, and placed under restricted residence.

The confidential 'cicero' files

But then, events took a strange twist. Attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail (right) stepped in and he was alleged to have used the ACA to access highly confidential files (dubbed the "cicero") on the case.

It is understood that no one, including the IGP and AG, was allowed to have access to the ‘cicero' files since a particular handling officer had been entrusted with them.

The move to use the ACA to intervene in the case sparked a huge uproar in the CCID as this amounted to interference in police work.

Nevertheless, the CCID was ordered to hand over the confidential files to the A-G's Chambers, and as a result the cicero papers landed on the ACA's desk.

With the information from the confidential files, the ACA hunted down the whistleblowers whose information led to Tengku Goh's arrest. The ACA used intimidation, fear tactics and days of interrogation to force the whistleblowers to change their previous statements.

Court documents in Tengku Goh's habeas corpus application also state that the kingpin's arrest and detention were not in accordance with the law as the action had been taken without the prior approval of IGP Musa.

With the informants changing their statements, Tengku Goh was eventually released from his restricted residence in Kelantan and he was allowed to return to Johor.

Malaysiakini had in 2007 published a special report on the scandal, piecing together information in the strange conflict within the very top echelon of the Police Force.

Last month, Ramli in his 60^th birthday speech accused the A-G's Chambers of reneging on its duty to draft affidavits in reply to Tengku Goh's habeas corpus application, resulting in Johari and Ramli having to seek lawyer Rosli Dahlan's help.

How ACA turned over the whistleblowers

A number of statutory declarations obtained by Malaysiakini, dated September 2007, relate how the ACA had coerced the whistleblowers to change their testimony .According to one informant, the ACA officers visited his home and told him that it was "a pity for Tengku Goh to be thrown in a Malay kampong, and this was discriminatory (aniaya) to Tengku".

"The officer also asked whether I knew Tengku was betrayed because he is a friend of IGP Musa. I did not know whether this was a serious or funny question. This got me worried.

"The officer also said the ACA was on Musa's side. I did not know what he meant and I was given a warning not to lie as the real thing was known by the ACA given that ‘all the secrets had been revealed'.

"I did not protest at what he said, but this made me even more worried," says the informant in the statutory declaration.

The whistleblower added that the ACA officers wanted him to "cooperate" with the anti-graft body so the matter could be closed.

He eventually succumbed to the ACA's request after five straight days of interrogation, and he was shown photographs to identify the police officers who took his statement.

"I made this statutory declaration (on the turnover) voluntarily as I fear for my family and my safety given that the information which I had given (earlier to the police) had been leaked.

"Others will now be scared to give information as they will be afraid that their identities can be compromised," laments the informant in the sworn statement.

Identities of Police Informants exposed

Another individual said in his statutory declaration that he was neither afraid of the police or ACA but feared that the frequency of having the anti-graft body contact him would make it more likely for word to get out to the underworld that he was a possible informant leading to Goh's arrest.

This, he said, would endanger his and his family's lives. Yet another whistleblower who made a statutory declaration said he had asked the ACA officer interrogating him whether Tengku Goh's men knew about the matter and the response was "yes".

"I inquired that if Tengku Goh was released, can the ACA protect me and he replied that if I cooperate with the ACA, I will be given protection. I told him I was not afraid of the police or ACA, but the gangsters hired by the kingpin.

"Before leaving the interrogation room, an ACA officer showed his pistol and said the ACA is as strong as the police. The police are more afraid of the ACA and you should not be afraid of the police.

"I am more confused over the ACA officer's remark, which seemed to come across to me like a form of intimidation," says the informant in his sworn statement.

Ramli volunteers to testify in tribunal

Malaysiakini has asked Musa to respond to the accusation that he and A-G Abdul Gani had fixed Ramli and his men, and allegedly protected an underworld figure. He gave a curt response: "That you have to ask the A-G." Ramli (right), when contacted by Malaysiakini to verify the facts and allegations in the statutory declarations, said he was willing to testify should there be a tribunal set up by Parliament against the former Police Chief and the A-G..

He added that he has new evidence regarding Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim's black-eye incident and Malaysia Airlines (MAS) chairperson Tajuddin Ramli - the two incidences which he was personally involved in when he was in the Police Force.

Ramli, in his birthday speech last February 29, revealed how the ACA was used by Abdul Gani to help Musa nail him and his men, where they were charged of wrongdoing but were eventually acquitted by the court.

The former CCID Chief had also in 2007 said that he suspected something was amiss in the ACA probe in which, he alleged, he and his officers had been victimised.Both Ipoh Timur MP Lim Kit Siang and Pokok Sena MP Dato' Mahfuz Omar have previously called for a tribunal to be set up by the Parliament to put Abdul Gani and Musa on trial.

SOMETHING ARE TERRIBLY WRONG WITH THE ENFORCEMENT AGENCY IN MALAYSIA

If something like this can happened to a serving Policeman, I would shuddered to think what could happen to an ordinary citizen on the street ?

Blow Away The Whistle-blower

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
by Raja Petra Kamarudin

Let me make this short and sharp. Malaysia Today has published many reports about the links between the organised crime syndicate and the Royal Malaysian Police. The seven reports are as follows:

1. Malaysia’s organised crime syndicate: all roads lead to Putrajaya
2. The roaches are scurrying and the rats are hurrying
3. Please, IGP, explain this!
4. The latest update on Infohub Sdn Bhd
5. The walls come crumbling down
6. No peace on Peace Hill
7. Who’s running the asylum anyway?

Thus far, six police officers and two underworld operators have come forward to sign Affidavits testifying that undoubtedly there are links between the underworld and the police. Malaysia Today did not publish the two Affidavits signed by the underworld figures (yes, that is my insurance policy in the safe-keeping of someone very important) but the six signed by the police officers were previously published as follows:

1. ASP Hong Kin Hock (G/10990)
2. ASP Mior Fahim Bin Ahmad (K/P Polis No: G/13237)
3. ASP Md. Yusof Bin Ahmad (K/P Polis No: G/10608)
4. Pemangku Sarjan Mejar Manimaran a/l Palaniappan (K/P Polis No: D/94894)
5. Detektif Sarjan Raja Kumar (K/P Polis No: D/104700)
6. Sarjan Mohd. Yasin Bin Malik (K/P Polis No: RF/89379)

Today, what we want to reveal is the story of how one police officer’s family was ‘kidnapped’ by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) and held for ‘ransom’ to solicit his cooperation. He and his wife have since made police reports on the matter. Isn’t it ironical that even police officers face kidnap threats and they have had to resort to making police reports to seek justice? What danger do you think people like you and I face when we do not wear a police uniform and carry a gun? In fact, when a police officer shot two people in Kuala Terengganu recently, they launched a day and night, house-to-house, state-wide manhunt to look for 37 of the 41 demonstrators who did not ‘surrender’ when the deadline to do so ended. It is not the police officer who shot two people whom they were concerned with. Instead, it was those who the police tried to shoot who are the brunt of the police action.

And now they talk about bringing the parents of a raped, tortured and murdered child to face the music for the tragedy that befell them. And we also hear sermons from people of the cloth who blame scantily-dressed girls for getting raped by sex perverts who can’t keep their hormones in check. Will we next see bank directors getting charged in court when bank robbers rob their banks and goldsmith owners being dragged off to jail in chains when their goldsmith shops get robbed? Yes, and millionaires should be shot when their children get kidnapped because they did not hire bodyguards to look after their children and luxury car owners should be jailed for parking their cars on the street when they went into the restaurant to have dinner instead of employing a driver to sit in the car to guard it against car thieves.

Anyway, let us get back to the police officer whose family was kidnapped by the ACA. Awhile back, Malaysia Today reported that some underworld bosses who were detained under the Emergency Ordinance were released by instructions from some higher-ups in the police force. This was in fact not the only time this happened. There were other such incidence where the Deputy Minister of Internal Security was implicated and where it is said he received RM5.5 million in bribes to release them. The allegation was revealed in an anonymous website which the Deputy Minister concerned suspects someone in the police force itself set up. Nevertheless, the revelation was announced by the police as only they appeared to be aware of the existence of this website and the Deputy Minister was called for interrogation before the ACA. The ACA subsequently announced that the Deputy Minister is innocent of the allegation and they classified the case closed and no further action (NFA) required.

In the second incident it was the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) who was this time accused of perpetuating the exact same thing that the Deputy Minister of Internal Security was accused of. But this time the amount was slightly less than half which the Deputy Minister was accused of. The IGP too was cleared by the ACA. It seems they checked his bank account and could not find RM2 million in it so this means he must be innocent and could not have taken any bribes from the underworld.

So it looks like both the Deputy Minister and the IGP are innocent and the allegations against them are all false. Sure, many underworld bosses who were detained under the Emergency Ordinance were released. But they were released because they were wrongly-detained and their detention did not follow proper procedures and not because the Deputy Minister and the IGP were paid money to release them. And since the ACA launched thorough investigations into the allegations against the Deputy Minister and the IGP and found them innocent then we must take the word of the ACA and assume that they are therefore innocent as what the ACA says. After all, if the ACA could not find the RM7 million or RM8 million in their bank accounts then there is no way they could have taken bribes from the underworld bosses. If they did then the money would still be in their bank accounts.

The government -- meaning here of course the Royal Malaysian Police, the Anti-Corruption Agency, and the Attorney-General’s Chambers -- have said that they have investigated the allegations against the Deputy Minister and the IGP and have found them to be unfounded. It is just two groups that are trying to bring each other down, say those who walk in the corridors of power. The police force is badly split and this is just the result of two groups, Team A and Team B, fighting for control of the police force, explains others in the corridors of power. This is just a turf war between two organised crime syndicates that are trying to gain control of the drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling and loan-sharking rackets, argue yet others who walk in the corridors of power. More theories are thrown onto the table: actually, both Team A and Team B are equally guilty of links with the underworld and each is trying to topple the other so that they can gain control of the drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling and loan-sharking rackets.

Well, whatever it may be, those who walk in the corridors of power should know better. But whatever the reason may be, they are all equally perturbing. This means there are serious problems in the police force. Whether it is one group jealous of another, whether it is a conspiracy to bring down the IGP, whether it is because the police are split into Team A and Team B, whether it is a turf war in the underworld and the police are just taking sides, they are all destructive and merely serves to demonstrate that we have serious problems on Peace Hill. And what irony that Peace Hill is not so peaceful nowadays.

Anyway, the government needs the truth to emerge and the only way for it to emerge would be for those who know the truth to come forward. 90% of the success in solving cases by the Income Tax Department, the Anti-Corruption Agency, the Royal Malaysian Police, etc., is the result of information they receive from whistle-blowers. In fact, the government depends so much on whistle-blowers that it has launched a whistle-blower protection program. Protection of whistle-blowers is internationally accepted and there is even an international agreement to that effect. Whistle-blowers must not only be protected but they have to also be placed under the witness protection programme and relocated with a new identity if need be. That would be the only way to ensure that the crime rate is kept low and the success rate of solving crimes is kept high.

But this does not happen in Malaysia. In Malaysia, if you were to squeal on those from amongst you who are corrupt, you will suffer retribution. Now do you know why it is so hard to pin down those police officers who murdered Altantuyu? Many know what happened but not many dare come forward to reveal what happened. To do so would be detrimental to one’s health.

Take the case of Nordin bin Ahmad, a police officer. He investigated the underworld bosses and helped build up the case against them. He squealed on the dirty cops. And he was made to regret that. They used the ACA to kidnap his wife and children on 23 September 2007 with a warning that they will be released only if he presents himself at the ACA office and changes his testimony implicating the underworld bosses. Both Nordin Ahmad and his wife, Kalsom Mat Nor, have made police reports on the matter which you can view below.

Two policemen claim trial to 14 counts of forgery

Yes, this is the same ACA that investigated the allegations against the Deputy Minister of Internal Security and the IGP and subsequently cleared them. If the ACA can resort to kidnapping the family of police officers and witnesses who testify against crooks, it makes one wonder whether you can any longer take the word of the ACA. It appears like they are accessories to crime rather than the eliminators of it. It appears like the ACA helps cover up the crime instead of going after the criminal. I know they say it takes a thief to catch a thief. But in this case the thief is protecting the thief and kidnapping the family of those who report the thief.

Many other witnesses and whistle-blowers were also summoned before those who walk in the corridors of power, in particular those who have signed Affidavits testifying to the fact they have received instructions from the underworld or received instructions from their superiors in the police force to cooperate with the underworld bosses and follow whatever orders they receive from them. Whistle-blowers have been exposed and now fear for their lives. Whistle-blowers will now get blown away. And the purpose of this exercise is to ‘prove’ that the allegations against Goh Cheng Poh a.k.a Tengku and his minions are false. On 1 October 2007, the court is scheduled to hear the application from Tengku for his detention and restricted residence order to be declared mala fide. If the court buys what he says, then this notorious underworld boss will be out on the streets in time to send Hari Raya Ang Pows to the dozens of police officers he has in his pocket.

Anyway, I am sure they will adduce all sorts of ‘evidence’ in court to ‘prove’ that Tengku is law-abiding, is a member of the Rotary Club and PTA, goes to the temple every week to pray, does uncountable charity work and dishes out donations to needy people by the millions, and all such bullshit. And I am going to start taking bets that Tengku will soon be back on the streets and all those police officers who arrested him and those witnesses who testified against him will wish they had never been born.

Any takers anyone? Let’s make it cheap: teh tarik at a favourite watering-hole of the winner’s choice.