By Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, August 18, 1993:
Call on Tan Sri Zulkifli Mahmood to explain what has happened to the ACA draft for a new corruption law
In June 1992, when I met the ACA Director-General, Tan Sri Zulkifli Mahmood, I was told that the ACA had finalised a draft for a new corruption law with widened power even to allow the ACA to investigate into privatised entities like MAS, Telekom and Tenaga Nasional if there are corrupt practices.
He said the draft anti-corruption law which proposed enhanced penalties for corruption offences had been submitted to the Attorney-General for study and he hope that the proposed hew law on corruption could be tabled in Parliament by the end of last year.
However, in Parliament last month, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, Othman Abdul claimed that the ACA had never submitted such a draft for a comprehensive anti-corruption law to the government.
I call on Tan Sri Zulkifli to explain what has happened to the CA draft for a new corruption law to give widened powers to the ACA to fight corruption.
Has the ACA quietly withdrawn the proposed draft it had been rejected by the Government?
Public confidence in the ACA will be greatly shaken if its draft for a new corruption law with greater powers to fight corruption can just disappear into thin air, without anybody knowing what has happened to it.
Attorney-General Tan Sri Abu Talib will have to account to Parliament and nation for his decision if he rejects the recommendation of ACA and refuses to authorise prosecutions in connection with the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal
In one local press yesterday, Attorney-General, Tan Sri Abu Talib said he would announce the decision whether to take legal action against those involved in the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal “tidak lama lagi”.
He said that “proses mengkaji kertas siasatan dan perbincangan dengan Ketua Pengarah Badah Pencegah Rasuah, Tan Sri Zulkifli Mahmood, hampir selesai”.
He said: “Kes itu kina di peringkat terakhir kajian dan saya akan menbuat keputusan sama ada untuk mengambil tindakan atau tidak terhadap mereka yang didakwa terbabit”.
ACA will suffer an irreparable blow its reputation if its 16-month investigation into MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal and the MIC President and Minister for Energy, Telekoms and Posts, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu ands in nothing.
The Malaysian public can safely conclude that the ACA is recommending action to be taken in connection with the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, for there is no need for the ACA to submit any report to the Attorney-General if the ACA has decided that there is no cause for action in connection with the scandal.
If the Attorney-General rejects the recommendation of the ACA and refuses to authorise any prosecution in connection with the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, Tan Sri Abu Talib will owe the nation and Parliament a full explanation and accounting for his decision.
In fact, if the Attorney-General rejects the recommendation of the ACA director-general for arrests and prosecution in connection with the MAIKA Telekom shares hijacking scandal, DAP will demand a full parliamentary inquiry into the decision taken by the Attorney-General, as this will be another blow to public confidence in the independence and impartiality of the office of Attorney-General after his earlier decision to approve the burning and destruction of the Vijandran pornogrphic videotapes and photographs.