Call for a public inquiry into the role of the Public Enterprises Minister and the MARA Chairman into the fiasco of the attempted removal of the MARA Director-General

By parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Friday, 11th October 1991:

Call for a public inquiry into the role of the Public Enterprises Minister and the MARA Chairman into the fiasco of the attempted removal of the MARA Director-General

The admission by the Public Enterprises Minister, Datuk Dr. Yusuf Nor that he had instructed the Ministry’s Deputy Secretary-General, Dr. Mohamed Noor Harun, to “temporarily” replace the MARA Director-General, Haji Mohamed Ridzuaqn Haji Halim, had not thrown light but deepened the mystery of the fiasco of the attempted removal of the MARA Director-General.

Why has it taken the Minister of Public Enterprises five days to give such a simple explanation – that Haji Mohamed Ridzuan had not been removed as MARA Director-General but was entrusted with setting up the MARA Research and Development Centre?

If this was the simple course of events, why then did Datuk Dr. Yusuf Nor say on Monday that Haji Ridzuan’s transfer out as MARA Director-General was being ‘put on hold’ when the Public Services Department pointed out that such staff changes was irregular and against established government procedures and regulations?

Is MARA to have two Directors-General?

From Dr. Yusuf Nor’s latest explanation, is the Minister saying that MARA is to have two Director-General – one Director-General whose task is to set up the Research and Development Centre, and a second Director-General whose task is to carry out the normal functions of a Director-General?

This is the ridiculous situation that is created when instead of admitting that there had been a high-handed, arbitrary and irregular attempt to remove the MARA Director-General, attempts are made to cover up such actions by inventing reasons.

In any event, is it justifiable to “temporarily” remove Haji Ridzuan as MARA Director-General just to set up the research and Development Centre?

Something is very wrong is the whole fiasco of the attempted removal of the MARA Director-General, and DAP calls for a public inquiry into the role of the Minister of Public Enterprise and the MARA Chairman, Tamrin Ghafar, in this scandalous episode.