MESSAGE by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Petaling, Lim Kit Siang, to the Pahang State DAP 1981 Ordinary Convention help in Bentong on convention eve, 11.7.81.
Call on NBI Director, Abdullah Ngah, take action against State Executive Councillors who are still defying the one-year old law requiring EXCOs to relinquish private commercial, industrial, professional and other businesses.
The DAP is dedicated to the creation of a clean, honest and incorruptible government which is dedicated to the service of the people.
In the last 15 years, the DAP had played its role as a watchdog of the people against corruption, abuses and excesses of power, inefficiency and incompetence in the public service.
The DAP will continue to play this role to defend the small man from oppression of the big government machinery, to ensure that the government serves the people and not bully and intimidate the rakyat.
The Government has passed many laws with beautiful intentions, but in many cases, they are forgotten even the Government Minister and leaders after they are been passed by parliament or the State assemblies.
A good example is the one-year-old law requiring State Executive Councillors to full-time, requiring them to relinquish all private commercial, industrial, professional or other business.
The reason for this law, which at the same time gave all the State Exco members huge salaries, special offices, car, entertainment and other perks is to ensure that State Exco members could concertrate full full time on their duties to serve the people, and to deny them temptation to succumb to corruption and other abuses by using their political offices foe personal advantage.
The State Exco members in the various state enjoyed their new increased salaries as from July 1, 1980. It is now one year since the coming into effect of their full-time salaries, but the State Exco have not fully become full-time.
There are will State Exco members who still engage in private commercial, industrial or professional activities prohibited by law. In fact, only last month, Pahang State Exco member, Mr. Lim Ah Lek, 39, was appointed business advisors by the Chartered Bank, whose main job is to get clients for the bank.
This is in clear conflict with Mr. Lim Ah Lek’s Exco position requiring full-time devotion to his public office. In fact, Mr. Lim appears to be open defying the law banning Exco members from any personal business deals.
In Johore, two senior Exco members, Datuk Tan Peng Khoon and Datuk Teo Ah Kiang, are actively involved in Matang Holdings Bhd., the Johore MCA Holding Company, which is at the centre of the scandal in Johore where over 10,000 people were induced to part with over $50 million on the ground of buying Matang shares, but ending up as giving ‘interest-free’ loans to the respective MCA Johore Divisions.
I call on the NBI Director, Abdullah Ngah, to investigage into all State Exco in the country as to whether they have complied with the law banning them from involving themselves in private commercial, industrial or professional business, and to take action against those who defy the
prohibition aimed at ensuring honesty, integrity and incorruptibility in public life at the various State government levels.