Phang said AG Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail’s explanation to the panel had failed to dispel suspicions that he was “consorting” with Shahidan Shafie, a proxy for former MAS executive chairman Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli.
Tajuddin was MAS executive chairman from 1994 to 2001. During his tenure, the national airline experienced losses totalling RM8 billion – its biggest ever – which led to complaints being lodged against him.Phang, who is also a Justice of Peace, was responding to a statement by panel chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam claiming that all members had been convinced of Abdul Gani’s innocence following the latter’s meeting with them yesterday.
“That was not how I perceived the meeting,” he said in a press release today.The country’s top lawyer met MACC board and panel members for a dialogue yesterday morning and furnished proof of his recent Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca which he was said to have travelled with Shahidan.In his statement, Navaratnam had said that MACC members were satisfied with Abdul Gani’s explanation and found that there was no need to investigate the allegations.
“We found that there was no case at all to accuse him of being linked to Tajuddin just because of this trip. It was irresponsible to allege that he was in any way linked,” Navaratnam had said.“Panel members did not see it fit to investigate the matter as we do not go by hearsay allegations or irresponsible rumours.”
Phang said today that Navaratnam’s “hasty” statement would only serve to reinforce the perception that the MACC members who attended the meeting were merely “rubber stamps” acting to preserve the AG’s position.
“I deeply regret that Ramon considers these allegations against Abdul Gani as just loose talks, rumours and speculations with no proper basis. I fear the public will see this as just another whitewash,” he said.
“By his actions, Ramon has eroded any vestige of credibility that may be left of the MACC, its advisory panels and other committee members.”The Social Care Foundation chairman said he considered Navaratnam’s statement a direct attack on him as Phang had earlier called for Abdul Gani to clear the air surrounding allegations that he had profited from Shahidan.
He explained that he had been concerned that the AG’s silence over the matter would only fuel deeper suspicions and confusion.Phang added that it was “imperative” that Abdul Gani explain why he chose not to prosecute Tajuddin, as recommended by the then-Commercial Crimes Department director, Datuk Ramli Yusuff. He pointed out that the public already saw the AG’s decision to prosecute Ramli as an attempt to cover up the MAS scandal.“These are matters that have been in the public domain and it is only fit and proper that I remind the powers that be of the public displeasure,” he said.
According to a report to the MACC, a major contributor to MAS’s record losses under Tajuddin was the relocation of its cargo operation in Amsterdam and Frankfurt to a single hub in Hahn, Germany, where the airline was forced to enter into a disadvantageous aircraft lease contract with a company, which was later linked to Tajuddin’s family.The new cargo hub operation had caused MAS to suffer losses of between RM10 million and RM16 million a month before the project was terminated after the government regained control of MAS in 2001.
The termination resulted in a RM300 million arbitration claim against MAS by the company.
The report to the MACC dated May last year also alleged that the Attorney-General has been reluctant to prosecute Tajuddin, despite the then-CCID chief Datuk Ramli Yusoff’s assurance in 2007 that it had identified various prosecutable offences.It also claimed that Tajuddin had been given access to the investigation and police records, which were used to facilitate the arbitration claim.
Source : http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/phang-denies-macc-satisfied-with-ag-explanation/
2 comments:
Greeting.
I am a Malaysian Chinese working oversea since 2010. Part of the reason for me to move abroad - disillusion on current government, esp on corruption related matter. Most of the government ministers and leaders, if not all, chose to keep quiet when come to corruption related issues, especially issues involving those from major ruling parties.
You are the first person from government side who stood up and voiced out what we thought - thumb up for this. Please keep this up! I am looking forward to see more action from MACC to fight graft and corruption!
HY
Stop showing fake patriotism, you went abroad for a better pay.Period. I stay here and involve directly in the struggle to combat corruption, you choose to 'cabut' and talk like a stateman? Have some shame, at least by telling us the truth.
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