By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petalling jaya on Thursday, 29th September 1994:
DAP calls on the prime Minister to present a White Paper in next month’s Parliament on the outcome of ACA re-opening of investigations into Samy Vellu and the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal.
DAP calls on the prime Minister to present a White Paper in next month’s Parliament on the outcome of ACA re-opening of investigations into the MIC President and the Minister for Energy, Posts and Telecommunications, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal.
I have received a 16-page report, including documentation, from the MIC headquarters Public Relations Committee Chairman, V. Subramaniam, relating how Samy Vellu had masterminded the ‘cover-up’ of the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, as well as confessing how he had assisted in the ‘cover-up’, to deceive and frustrate the Anti-Corruption Agency investigations.
This 16-page report had also been sent to all Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Member of Parliament, Mentri-Mentri Besar and Chief Ministers.
Subramaniam confession a ‘time-bomb’ as it is an indictment of how a Federal Miniter committed the heinous crimes of destroying evidence and fabrication of accounts to frustrate ACA in its investigations.
The 16-page Subramaniam confession is a ‘time-bomb’ as it is an indictment of how a Federal Minister committed the heinous crimes of destroying evidence and fabrication of accounts to frustrate the ACA in its investigations.
It is also an indictment as to how Samy Vellu had committed parliament contempts in deceiving Parliament when he denied that he was guilty of any wrongdoing in the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking, and even engineered my suspension from Parliament for seven months in 1992 to stop me from further exposing his role in the MAIKA scandal.
I will demand in the budget meeti8ng of Parliament starting next month that Parliament must take official cognizance of the 16-page Subramaniam confession and that Parliament must officially debate the Subramaniam confession.
In this confession, V. Subramaniam said that when the Anti-Corruption Agency wanted to question Samy Vellu on the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal in May 1992, Samy Vellu phones him from USA, directing him to assist him in organizing the material to substantiate his explanation.
Subramaniam said: “Iwas loyal and followed his instruction as he persuaede me that he was honest in the matter. I conveyed his instructions to others. Seven of us, including myself, thereafter worked day and night at Datuk Seri Samy Vellu’s residence and under his directions, preparing new accounts, rewriting A/c books, creating backdated receipts and vouchers, transmitting cash, procuring new share scripts and destroying the old records.
“The objective was to make ACA believe that the proceeds of the Telekom shares went to the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED). In the process, little by little, I become aware of the whole scenario involving the diversion of the shares and the siphoning of the sales proceeds of these shares. I realized that Datuk Seri Samy Vellu had cheated the downtrodden Indian Community, and that he was using me and other as tools for his self-interest. In the first place, Government assistance for the economic upliftment of the community had been subverted, and when caught out, repayment of personal loans made by Dato Seri Samy Vellu to MIC Tafe Colloge has been offered as alibi.
“Datuk Seri Samy Vellu has declared thatv the ‘diverted’ shares were for the educational well-being of the Indian community, specifically Tafe College. However, Tafe Colloge had been given $8 million by the Prime Minister in October 1989. When the controversy blew up, the 8.6.92 STAR quotes Dato Seri Samy Vellu as saying:
‘Datuk Mahathir had already given $8 million for the college and I did not want to go back to him and ask for more,” he (Samy Vellu) said.
“This was his justification for hijacking the Telekom shares intended for MAIKA.”
Samy Vellu flew to Singapore to withdraw $1 million in Singapore dollars from his Swiss A/c in May 1992 to ‘cover up’ the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal
Subramaniam also narrated how as part of the ‘cover up’ to falsify accounts to deceive the ACA, he (Subramaniam) was directly involved in the purchase of 1.5 million renong shares in may 1992.
Subramaniam said: “Dato Seri Samy Vellu flew to Singapore, withdrew $1 million Singapore dollars from his Swiss A/c , came back and gave the money to me at hi house that night. All were in S$10,000 bills. He directed the money to be converted via money changers and pay RM1.5 Million tp RHB for 1.5 million Renong shares. Dato Seri Samy Vellu left for India the next morning.”
Subramaniam also narrated how in May 1992, he and the MIC accountant collected RM2.5 million cash from Clearway Sdn. Bhn. – one of the three companies to which the nine million Telekom shares meant for MAIKA were ‘diverted’ – after the ACA commenced its invertigations. This was kept by them in a joint safe deposit box in the Bank of Commerce, jalan Masjid India Branch for a few days. Later the cash was handed over to Samy vellu.
In this statement, Subramaniam said:
“I was instrumental in helping Dato Seri Samy Vellu escape the Telekom shares invertigation by ACA. I wish to expose gross injustice done to the Indian Community by a man who was entrusted with the guardianship of the downtrodden poor Indians. I was led to believe that all his action were for the betterment of the Indian community but midway I realized that pure self interest was Dato Samy Vellu‘s only motivating force. The devious manner in which the Telekom shares were hijacked ny Dato Samu Vellu from the Indian Community is nothing else but outright corruption/criminal breach of trust and subsequent action to cover up the whole affair was a fraud.
“Not a single soul in the MIC other than Dato samy vellu was ever aware of any shares being issued to MIC, MIED or MAIKA. It was only well after the ACA began its investigations that he had to persuade some principal MIC officials to collaborate with him. The investigations by ACA were hindered and eventually proved hopeless because the entire accounting documents, receipts and vouchers had been fraudulently altered or replaced. Subsequent investigations by the ACA are also hindered by intimidation and harassment of witness.”
The MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal will go down in history as an acid test as to whether the Barisan Nasional Government is serious about the flight against corruption, criminal breach of trust and abuses of power in high political places, or whether the Anti-Corruption Agency is only a mere ‘toothless paper tiger’ when dealing with Barisan Nasional leaders.
MPs must ask whether there is any purpose of the ACA existing in its present form if the ACA continues to be impotent in the face of the damning confession by V. Subramaniam as to how he had helped Samy Vellu in the ‘cover-up’ of the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal
The integrity and credibility of the ACA had not recovered from its earlier clearing of Samy vellu in August 1993 as innocent of any wrongdoing in the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal.
With the detailed confession by V. Subramaniam as to how Samy Vellu had masterminded a ‘cover-up’ operation to deceive the ACA, involving destroying evidence and fabrication of accounts by rewriting new accounts, rewriting accounts books, creating backdated receipts and vouchers, procuring new share scrips, destroying old records, the ACA now faces its most supreme test.
If the ACA continues to be impotent in the face of such damning confession by V. Subramaniam in having been one of the seven who aided and abetted Samy Vellu in the ‘cover-up’ of MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, then the question must be posed in next month’s Parliament as to whether there is any purpose in the ACA continuing to exist in its present form.