Remove the A-G and Reform

by Din Merican

GE 13 is just around the corner. Everyone can feel it. If not, why would PM Najib Tun Razak go around the country making apologies for the past sins of Barisan Nasional. Why would he scrap the Public Service New Remuneration Scheme (SBPA) which had caused much anger to most civil servants except those who would benefit from it like the mediocre Ketua Setiausaha Negara (KSN-Chief Secretary) Tan Sri Sidek Hassan who mooted that stupid scheme.

It is worrisome that the “UMNO Culture” to reap personal benefits has permeated into the once respected Malaysian Civil Service in such brazen manner that top civil servants would dare to create compensation schemes to benefit themselves instead of the lowly paid civil servants who they are supposed to care for.

Fortunately, Prime Minister Najib has now seen the light and scrapped the SBPA. Unfortunately, the Prime Minister did so only after this issue had been strongly highlighted for months by the Opposition. Sidek Hassan’s contract of service should be immediately terminated for making the government look so bad in this flip-flop policy. He must be held fully accountable for this guff.

GE 13 is also the reason why Shahrizat Jalil had to finally step down as Minister. But it is laughable that Wanita UMNO should hail that as her noble act of being a “sacrifical cow’’ over the NFC scandal. It is ridiculous that the rest of the UMNO top leadership should try to make her resignation look like a heroic act to the extent that yesterday TV3 carried interviews showing support for her.

Let’s get our facts right. Shahrizat’s ministerial post depended on her term as a Senator. She was made a senator because she had lost in GE12 in 2008. So, the then PM, Abdullah Badawi, smuggled her into the Senate (Dewan Negara) in order to make her qualify to be a minister. That explained her smugness in shrugging off the NFC scandal as nothing to do with her despite the fact that the shareholders and directors are her children and husband. She must have felt that she owed her office not to the electorate but solely to the Prime Minister. That is what happens when you cheat in elections and appoint losers as cabinet ministers when they feel they are not accountable to the electorate.

The truth is now revealed. Shahrizat’s "resignation" on Sunday (March 11) is to avoid the embarrassment of her from being seen walking hand in hand along the court corridors with her husband, the NFC Executive Chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Salleh Ismail (right), who was charged in court yesterday for Criminal Breach of Trust (CBT) and other offences.

It would be embarrassing for her, as a sitting minister, and for UMNO which had defended her and the NFC Board. They had previously blasted the Director CCID Dato Wira Syed Ismail Syed Azizan for going public to say that the Police had already recommended that the NFC Directors be charged but the decision to prosecute is the prerogative of A-G Gani Patail.

"UMNO Culture" of Arrogance

That “UMNO Culture” of arrogance can be seen repeatedly in the examples of Dr. Awang Adek (left) and Azalina Othman who shamelessly admitted that they had received money, not less than RM300,000- in their private accounts, but made it look as if it was for a noble cause.

It is repulsive that the MACC can accept such explanations without doing anything, whereas Teoh Beng Hock and Ahmad Sarbaini were detained, subjected to intense interrogation and subsequently died in the hands of the MACC over mere allegations of petty change. In the case of Ahmad Sarbaini and others, their assets were frozen pending investigations. Are the assets of Shahrizat’s family, Awang Adek’s and Azalina’s frozen pending investigations? What is apparent to the public is that when UMNO strongmen and strong women openly admit receiving bribes and justify their acts of gratification, the MACC seems powerless to act.

Gratification Culture ala UMNO

The “UMNO Culture” of gratification can be seen in the Kidex RM2.2 billion project awarded to Emrail Sdn Bhd and Zabima Engineering Sdn Bhd, two companies owned by UMNO lawyer Hafarizam Harun(right) and UMNO former Chief Justice Zaki Azmi, as a reward for their efforts to oust the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Perak.

GE 13 is very near when you see Tun Ling Liong Sik’s defence being called in the trial over the PKFZ scandal. That is a lesson they learned from the Altantuya’s murder by C4 case when they released Razak Baginda without calling for his defence whereas it was Razak who hired the Police UTK boys to help him out of that problem. In the end, Razak is a free man enjoying himself in London from the Scorpene submarine multi-million ringgit commission while the UTK boys are in prison on death row. Sadly, that is the Malaysian story where the big and powerful go scot free and the small people become scapegoats and are left to pick the pieces.

The Fate of DSP Baharin, DSP Hong et.al

That was also the fate suffered by DSP Baharin, DSP Hong and those other policemen who were victimised in 2007. For 4 long years they had to suffer being suspended from work and ostracised by the Police Force that they had loyally served. Thus, I was very happy when Dato Ramli Yusuff paid tribute to these fearless rank and file officers during his 60th Birthday on February 29, 2012.

Many friends asked me why I was not there at that birthday celebration. I told them that I do not mix socially with Dato Ramli even though I may have made him the cause celebre’ of my writings. I have been writing about Dato Ramli and his lawyer Rosli Dahlan, not because they are my friends but because they have become a just cause for us to fight for.

A Witness to MACC's manipulation of facts

I did not know them when I first started writing about their cases. I came to know them when I attended the many court sessions and saw how the MACC manipulated facts and the MACC DPPs like Kevin Morais, Zulqarnain and even its Director of Prosecution Razak Musa (infamous for strangulating himself in the Teoh Beng Hock Inquest) aided and abetted such manipulations especially when Kevin the Faggot lied in court while giving evidence under solemn oath to tell the truth, nothing but the whole truth.

So, when Dato Ramli called to invite me to his birthday, I told him that he need not invite me just out of gratitude and that we need not socialise or be seen together just because he feels somewhat indebted to me. What happened to him and Rosli Dahlan could happen to anyone of us. Thus, I have to tell their story so that it will never be repeated. It is to prevent this country from descending into a failed state.

It was brave of Dato ' Ramli to finally break his 4 years of silence to expose what happened to him, Rosli Dahlan and the other innocent Policemen. And all these point to the abuses of the people helming PDRM, the MACC and the post of the A-G.

In that sense, I agree with Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK) that there is no point in making new or additional laws, rules and regulations for better governance if the people we appoint to lead such institutions are unworthy of our trust. What we need to wipe off is the “UMNO Culture” which is not exclusive to UMNO or BN. That culture could also develop in the Pakatan Rakyat government and we, the people, whose votes can put the right people into power, must guard against such abuses.

That brings me to the public revelation made by Dato Ramli (posted by Hafiz Yatim of Malayskini reproduced below) of the abuses of power and of the system by the then IGP Musa Hassan, the MACC and AG Gani Patail to fix Dato Ramli and the other innocent officers. Click: Hafiz Yatim 's Article

With Musa Hassan’s retirement, the new leadership of Tan Sri Ismail Omar has managed the crime index to show great improvement; street crimes are reduced; and the Along menace has subsided. There is also a display of independence by the Police when the current Director CCID Dato Wira Syed Ismail Syed Azizan went public about the Police recommendation to charge the NFC Directors.

Syed Ismail was for many years Dato Ramli’s direct subordinate and had learned well from the misfortune that befell Dato Ramli by making his recommendation public. In a way, Syed Ismail checkmated A-G Gani Patail from manipulating the NFC case the way he did with the MAS case.

Readers will remember that in March 2007, Dato Ramli had made a confidential recommendation to then Prime Minister (Tun) Abdullah Badawi that MAS Chairman, Tajuddin Ramli, should be charged. Dato Ramli even suggested that if A-G Gani Patail declined to do so, his CCID prosecution officers are legally qualified to prosecute the case.

This confidential report had angered A-G Gani Patail, but it was also a time bomb for UMNO. That was when A-G Gani Patail refused to prepare affidavits for the CCID leading to the release of the underworld figure, Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh, and instead charged the rank and file Policemen.

A-G Gani and Musa Hassan also conspired with the MACC, headed then by Ahmad Said Hamdan, to fix up Dato Ramli by false investigations and leaked to the Ppress to make up a story about the “RM 27 Million Cop”. This RM 27 million story immediately fizzled out once Dato Ramli was charged because all these were just fabrications and lies. I have previously written extensively on that and will not repeat the story again.

The point is that if Dato Ramli’s recommendation on the MAS-Tajuddin Ramli scandal had been made public like how Dato Syed Ismail makes public his recommendations on the NFC scandal, there would be little room for A-G Gani Patail to manipulate the case. In any event, Dato Ramli’s victimisation arising from the MAS scandal was just another of UMNO’s project as is evidenced now by the settlement ordered by de facto Minister Dato Seri Nazri Aziz in his letter dated August 8, 2011 that all the GLCs should settle their cases with Tajuddin.

Abu Kassim and the MACC

The MACC is now headed by Dato Seri Abu Kassim. Despite all my criticisms of the MACC, I am told that he is a decent man. Malaysians should be prepared to give Abu Kassim a chance to reform the MACC. If he can do what Ismail Omar is now achieving with the PDRM, then there is still some hope left for the MACC because I am told there is a covert move to oust Abu Kassim. Obviously, some one there is hungry to succeed Abu Kassim. It would be unfortunate if Abu Kassim’s ousting leads to the resurrection of the “Unholy Trinity” where the PDRM and the MACC merely follow orders from A-G Gani Patail.

As for A-G Gani Patail, I am astounded that the Home Minister Dato Seri Hishammuddin Hussein Onn has demanded for evidence of A-G Gani Patail’s abuses. There is already so much evidence in the public domain. In RPK’s most recent postings “ Reality & Fallacy” and “ Denial Syndrome”, there is posted a Statutory Declaration (SD) of Musa Hassan’s former ADC and referred to nine other SDs. It is pathetic that Hishamuddin should answer in that evasive way. As the Home Minister, he has at his disposal the extensive resources of the whole Police force, especially the Special Branch.

We, Malaysians, do not need to teach the Home Minister how to do his job or how to obtain intelligence. In any event, let me help the Home Minister by reproducing below just two links, photographs and documents that had been previously written of the abuses and suspicious dealings of A-G Gani Patail:

a) A-G Gani Patail’s Haj trip with Shahidan Shafie –A-G Gani's Haj Trip with Shahidan Shafie Why is AG Gani Patail consorting with Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy? Is that why the A-G Chambers refused to take action against Tajuddin despite the recommendations by CCID? and

b) A-G Gani Patail’s involvement in the Ho Hup corporate tussle -Gani Patail and the Ho Hup Connection

Are these not suspicious conduct on the part of A-G Gani Patail that makes him unfit for that august office? Let the Home Minister answer that question.

As for Prime Minister Najib, there is no point to just apologise. The Prime Minister talks about goood governance. Now is the time to show real political will. Now is the time to remove A-G Gani Patail and reform!

Whatever Happened to Altantuya Shaariibuu?

Asia Sentinel, 15 October 2007
by Mat Salleh

Timid prosecution, long delays and avoiding a powerful witness in a sensational murder case raise questions about Malaysia’s judicial system

The trial of Abdul Razak Baginda and two of Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s bodyguards for the October 2006 murder of Altantuya Shaariibuu has been underway for 150 days with neither the prosecutors nor defense showing much appetite for an aggressive proceeding.

The brutal demise of Abdul Razak’s jilted girlfriend, a freelance Mongolian translator, has been lost in a haze of procedural motions and delays. Critics of Malaysia’s judicial and political systems frequently point to the closeness of Abdul Razak and the two bodyguards, Chief Inspector Azilah Hadri, 31, and Corporal Sirul Azhar Umar, 36, to Najib. The latter were part of the Special Action Squad, an elite team of bodyguards directly under Najib’s control, until they were arrested last November.

Fewer than 50 days have been spent in court over the course of the five months since the trial began. As the trial resumed Oct. 10 after yet another lengthy delay, the prosecution said it had another 15 witnesses left to go with the 38 that have already appeared, leading one lawyer connected with the case to tell Asia Sentinel, “that is a huge number of prosecution witnesses to call, which I think is totally unnecessary.”

What began as gripping drama has devolved into grinding routine, and the Malaysian public has become increasingly bored with the trial. But it still remains one of the most spectacular trials in Malaysian history because of the gruesome execution of the beautiful 27-year-old woman, who was shot twice in the head and then had her body blown up with plastic explosives in a jungle clearing.

The foot-dragging and numbing technical proceedings have led to suspicions on the part of many that it is being deliberately delayed by the prosecution and the judiciary to lessen the eventual impact of an expected not-guilty verdict, although legal sources point out that Malaysia has no pre-trial discovery process, which means that in other jurisdictions time-consuming activities like the identification of evidence are concluded before the trial begins. But in the case at hand, suspicions have been heightened because of the politically well-connected defendant in a judicial system saddled with scandal, inefficiency and suspected collusion with government for nearly 20 years. The concerns emanate from a landmark event in 1988, when then-Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad sacked Tun Salleh Abbas, the highly respected Lord President of the Supreme Court, when the court refused to buckle under on government decisions.

Certainly, there are questions about the delays, including a one-week break in mid September for a judges’ conference and another while Abdul Razak Baginda went for treatment of an eye problem. In August, there was a three-week break to give lawyers on both sides time to handle other cases. There have been lengthy trials-within-trials while prosecutors and defense attorneys squabbled over the admissibility of evidence. Most of last week was taken up with a debate on DNA evidence.

“In civil cases this is the usual thing,” the lawyer said. “But I am surprised that it has gone on this long. I don’t think we have had this kind of factual circumstance in a criminal trial in Malaysia’s legal history.”

The bodyguards accused of pulling the trigger, Azilah and Sirul, are alleged to have killed Altantuya at the behest of Abdul Razak, who had broken off his affair with her. She was demanding as much as US$500,000 in support money for a child he supposedly had fathered. In a statement to police, he acknowledged that he had given Altantuya US$10,000 on three separate occasions.

As Asia Sentinel previously reported, there is abundant reason to suspect that Najib also knew Altantuya, despite his protestations, although his name has been mentioned only once in the Shah Alam high court where the trial is being held. Malaysia’s government-influenced newspapers have mentioned Najib only reluctantly in connection with the case, merely printing that he had sworn before Allah that he had never met the woman.

Najib and Abdul Razak, probably accompanied by the translator, were in France together at the same time in 2005, perhaps because of a military procurement deal that netted Abdul Razak a fortune. In a letter left behind after her death, Altantuya said she regretted blackmailing Abdul Razak, although she didn’t say what the blackmail entailed.

At the time she accompanied Abdul Razak to Paris, Malaysia’s defense ministry, headed by Najib, was negotiating without bids through a Kuala Lumpur-based company, Perimekar Sdn Bhd, which at the time was owned by yet another company called Ombak Laut, wholly owned by Abdul Razak Baginda, to buy two Scorpene submarines and a used Agosta submarine produced by the French government under a French-Spanish joint venture, Amaris.

Scorpene Submarines under construction in France

The Malaysian ministry of defense paid one billion euros (RM4.5 billion) to Amaris for the three submarines, for which Perimekar received an 11 percent commission, 114 million euros (RM510 million) from Amaris. Deputy Defense Minister Zainal Abdidin Zin told the Dewan Rakyat, Malaysia’s parliament, that the whopping commission was not a bribe, but was a fee for “coordination and support services.”