Speech by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, at the DAP Tanjong 3 dinner organised by the Tainan Sri Rambai DAP Branch, Bukit Mertajam on Saturday, 17th July 1993 at 8 p.m.
Malaysia is lagging behind the Asian ‘uprising’ against political corruption when the Anti-Corruption Agency could not prosecute a Cabinet Minister after 16 months of investigations into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal
Malaysia is lagging behind the Asian ‘uprising’ against political corruption when the Anti-Corruption Agency could not prosecute a Cabinet Minister after .16 months of investigations into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal.
Last Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister, Ghafar Baba said that the final decision on the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal implicating the MIC President and Minister for Energy, Telecommunications and Posts, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, would be made by the Attorney-General.
Two days ago, the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abu Talib, said that a decision on the Anti-Corruption Agency’s 16-month probe into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal would be made in due course after he had “given due consideration to every issue which must be considered”, saying that he would be making a decision shortly.
How can the Malaysian Government claim to be committed in the war against political corruption, when there is still no outcome after 16 months of investigations into the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal?
Furthermore, why should the Attorney-General create obstacles in the way of the ACA to arrest and prosecute those responsible for gross malpractices in hijacking the nine million Telekom shares meant for the MAIKA shareholders’?
In South Korea, since Vie first became the first civilian president in three decades last December, Kim Young-sam had been waging a clean-up of awesome proportions in the past eight months and some 3,000 Government officials, businessmen and politicians have been fired, reprimanded or jailed on bribery charges.
In Taiwan, a new so-called “sun-shine law” had just been enacted requiring some 23,000 civil servants, military officers and judges to report their family assets. Nearly 1,000 ranking officials must do so publicly, while 629 top political leaders, including the president, the premier and members of the cabinet and all legislator’s, must deposit their financial holdings in blind trusts.
In Malaysia, however, the Anti-Corruption Agency had to take 16 months in the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal investigations, and there is still no ‘green light1 for the ACA to take the scandal to court!
I would urge the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Mahathir Mohamed to remember his ‘Look East Policy’, and emulate the example of South Korea, Taiwan as well as the rising popular demand for an end of money politics in Japan and launch a political reform in Malaysian to clean up corrupt, money-politics.
As a first step, the Government must immediately give the ‘green light’ to the ACA to take the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal to court, even if it means the arrest and prosecution of a Cabinet Minister and a Deputy Minister.