By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary- General and MP for Kota Melaka, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, 28th May, 1986:
DAP calls on Attorney- General, Tan Sri Abu Talib, to explain what his Chambers have decided on the recommendations for criminal actions made by the Ahmad Nordin Inquiry Committee.
The opening of the extradition hearing in the Bow Street magistrate’s Court in London on 85 criminal charges against Lorraine Osman and Hashim Shamsuddin in connection with the BMF scandal should put Malaysians in shame.
This is because in the biggest financial banking and financial scandal involving Malaysia, where $2.5 billion of Malaysia taxpayers’ money had been stolen and defrauded, Malaysia had not taken a single criminal action, and we have to depend on other countries like Hong Kong and London to bring the BMF criminals to book and justice.
It is not that there is no basis for Malaysia to initiate criminal actions against the BMF culprits. In fact, the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee, in its Final Report as well in its three Special Briefs, made various recommendations for police and criminal actions to be initiated by the Malaysian authorities against Lorraine Osman, Hashim Shamsuddin and others for their theft and fraud of Malaysian public funds.
The Attorney- General, Tan Sri Abu Talib bin Othman, should explain what he and his Chambers have decided on the recommendations by the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee on the various criminal prosecutions against these responsible for the BMF scandal.
Has the Attorney- General decided to reject out-of-hand all these recommendations of the Ahmad Nordin BMF Inquiry Committee on criminal prosecutions, or is he still sitting on the recommendations without having made up his mind? The Attorney- General seems to be more interested in political issues, like the amendment to the Official Secrets Act, refusal to prosecute the Sabah bombers, arsonists and political leaders involged in a conspiracy last March to topple the Sabah elected government, and the disqualification of Mr. Justice Mustapha Hussein in the habeas corpus application by the 27 Kampong Memali Incident detainess, than in getting on with arresting and prosecuting the BMF culprits.
If the Attorney- General of Mallaysia has to deoend on the Attorney- General of other countries to clear out own drift, this will be a most shameful chapter in the history of the Attorney- General’s Chamber in the country.
Has the Muliti-million dollar security fence and the $43 million security wall at the Malaysia- Thai border proved to be mere ‘white elephants’ in combating smuggling?
Deputy Prime Minister, Ghaffar Baba, yesterday directed the technical committee under the Cabinet Committee on Essential Items to find ways of checking smuggling of goods from foreign countries. He is referring in particular to the smuggling activities from Thailand, involving food items, livestock, as well as firearms.
This must have come as a surprise to Malaysians, who were told that the construction of a multi-million security fence and later a $43 million security wall at the Malaysia-Thai border would have reduced the smuggling problem to negligible levels. Or have the multi-million dollar security fence and the $43 million security wall at the Malaysia-Thai border proved to be mere ‘white elephants’ in combating smuggling?