Silence 'not an option', ex-AG Abu Talib tells Gani

Former attorney-general Abu Talib Othman is urging his successor Abdul Gani Patail to answer allegations against him over the Pulau Batu Puteh debacle.

“To me, he has no choice but to speak up to defend himself and his office.

“For this purpose perhaps, it will be relevant if I were to quote the words of Lord Denning, ‘Silence is not an option when things are ill done’,” Abu Talib (right) told Malaysiakini today.

He was commenting on former police CID chief Mat Zain Ibrahim’s statutory declaration on the Pulau Batu Puteh territorial dispute with Singapore.

The dispute was heard by the International Court of Justice in The Hague and the court in May 2008 ruled in Singapore’s favour.

Mat Zain had claimed that Gani, who led Malaysia’s legal team, had tendered a doctored photograph of Pulau Batu Puteh, taken from an anonymous blog, as evidence.

He said this was caught out and had undermined the credibility of Malaysia’s legal team in the eyes of the bench of 16 judges.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Nancy Shukri has denied that Gani was involved in submitting the photograph that inaccurately portrayed the island’s position relative to the coast of Johor.

However, Gani himself has thus far remained silent on the allegation.

 

 

Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/247851

Esscom told to buck up

PETALING JAYA: Social Care Foundation chairman Robert Phang criticized the newly established Eastern Sabah Security Commission (Esscom) following the recent attack on the Taiwanese tourist in Sabah; while issuing a strong advice to the body by urging them to fix the loopholes.

The social activist said the incident has clearly indicate that the security system imposed by the body is not attack proof.

“I know that they are doing their best, however this incident shows that the system is not good enough to prevent such a tragic incident and it has happened again in Sabah.

“Somehow, somewhere is wrong and Esscom must seriously look at the loopholes. Undoubtedly Esscom have weaknesses that needs to be ratified ,” the 75 year-old said.

During the wee hours of Friday morning a group of terrorists believed to be Abu Sayyaf had killed a 57 year old Taiwanese identified as Lim Min Hsu and kidnapped his 58 year old wife An Wei Chang .

After five days of search, the authorities have yet to identify the exact location of the victim and receive any updates from the abductors.

Phang then agreed with a statement made by the Inspector General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar yesterday adding that police should not reveal any plans and progress about the case publicly.