By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Saturday,Dec.14,1985:
DAP to hold a series of 100 public meetings to demand the public release of the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee final report
Every top Minister seems to be eager to let Malaysians to know that they have not read the BMF Inquiry Committee final report officially presented to Bank Bumiputra and the government on Monday.
Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed, said he had not yet got a copy 1,057-page final report submitted by the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee. At the rater things are going, an inquiry may have to be established to find out what has happened to the various copies of the BMF final reports, and why they had not reached the hands of the Prime Minister or even the Bank Bumiputra Chairman, Tan Sri Bashir Ismail.
It is significant that since the completion and submission of the BMF Final Report, neither the Prime Minister nor the Finance Minister had reiterated their previous statement that the government would publish the BMF report as it had nothing to hade. On the contrary, the Attorney General, Tan Sri Abu Talib, has come out with his ‘personal opinion’ that the BMF final report should not be published, as it would prejudice the prosecution of the principal BMF culprits.
From my experience of how the government operates, I do not believe that the Attorney-General would have given his ‘personal opinion’ without prior discussion with either the Prime Minister of the Finance Minister.
Clearly, the Attorney-General is trying to fly a kite on behalf of the government to prepare for the suppression of the BMF final report, breaking the earlier promises by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on the publication of the BMF final report.
The DAP is planning a series of 100 public meetings throughout the country to demand the public release of the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee final report, as the vital principal of public accountability of public funds is involved. I hope that the Prime Minster would be able to release the BMF final report after next week Wednesday’s Cabinet meeting.
The DAP will not accept any excuse for suppressing or delaying the public of the Ahmad Nordin BMF final report.
DAP concerned the ‘confrontationist’ relationship between the Attorney-general and the Bar
The DAP is concerned about the hostile and confrontionist relationship between the Attorney –General and the Bar, to the extent that the Attorney-General refused to give a message to organisers of the recent Malaysian Law Conference.
The Bar Council’s latest bulletin, Infoline, is to be commended for bringing into the open this sad state of relationship between the Attorney-General and the Bar, for it is a matter of public interst that such hostile and confrontationist relationship should be resolved.
In refusing to send a message for the Malaysian Law Conference, the Attorney-general seems to have taken his feud with the Bar Council to childish lengths.
I would suggest that the Attorney-General, his officers and officials of the Bar Council should be able to sit down together as mature and responsible Malaysians to lay the foundation for a co-operative and harmonious relationship between them.
Why Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik, has not himself sued Josephine and Karpal Singh for defamation?
A committee member of the UMNO Alai Branch in the Kota Melaka division Atip bin Ali, had filed defamation suit against Josephine Nunis and Karpal Singh for the earlier legal suit of Josephine against the Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik , for breach of promise to marry her.
Atip is suing on the ground that Josephine’s earlier legal action had brought the moral prestige and reputation of UMNO, UMNO members and the Malacca Chief Minister into disrepute.
I want to ask why Malacca Chief Minister, Datuk Abdul Rahim Thambi Cik had not himself sued Josephine and Karpal Singh instead of using an ordinary UMNO branch committee member to file the action.
I want to deny the allegation that the DAP had in our ceramahs in Malacca and the country featured the Abdul Fahim Thamby Cik-Josephine affair’. For this is untrue. I had not even called on Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik To resign as Malacca Chief Minister.
We leave it to the people of Malacca and Malaysia to make up their own mind about UMNO and Barisan political leaders who are supposed to show ‘Leadership by Example.’
Clearly, an intensive power struggle is taking place in Malacca UMNO aimed at the toppling of Datuk Seri Abdul Rahim Thamby Cik as Chief Minister. I would advise these UMNO elements to fight their own battle, and not to drag into their power tussle.
Call on Police not to adopt double standards involving illegal Indonesian immigrant crimes
I call on the Inspector-General of Police to ensure that the police does not use double standards involving illegal Indonesian immigrant crimes.
There has recently been a spate of crime by illegal Indonesian immigrants in Selangor, with one video dealer killed in Cheras, armed robberies and rape in various areas in the state..
The tolerance of the people reached breaking point in Serdang recently when Serdang villagers attacked illegal Indonesian immigrants, resulting in twenty youth being arrested. Almost the next day, there were four illegal Indonesian immigrants who assaulted and wounded six persons in Kampong Subang in their attempted armed robbery. In Batang Kali, illegal Indonesian immigrant crimes also were rampant.
I have received complaints that the Serdang youths who were provoked to take action and break the law because of the unending illegal Indonesian immigrant crimes in their area, were assaulted by the police under custody. This is not only unlawful for the police has no right to use violence themselves, but what has caused a lot of anger among the people is that the police is very ‘soft’ in dealing with illegal Indonesian immigrants arrested by them.
The illegal Indonesian immigrant crime wave must be dealt with and resolved by the police, or the Malaysian people would lose confidence in the police ability to protect them from such crimes , and in the independence and impartiality of the police force. I hope the stage will not be reached where one day the people come to feel that the Police seems to be more protective of the illegal Indonesian immigrants than the lawful citizens of Malaysia!