Speech (Part 2) by Parliament Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, at the opening of the Penang DAP State Convention at Towne House Conference Hall on Sunday, 22nd August, 1993 at 10a.m.
DAP calls on the Cabinet to seek the extradition of Lorrain Osman to Malaysia to stand trial for corruption in connection with the RM2.5 billion BMF scandal
The Malaysia public cannot be satisfied with the latest development in the RM2.5 billion Bumiputra Malaysia Finance scandal, where Lorrain Osman has returned to London as a free man, and Dr. Mahathir is being proved right that although the BMF scandal is a ‘heinous crime’, it has no ‘criminals’.
The Hong Kong Government has dropped all charges against Lorrain, including counts of bribery, conspiracy to defraud and theft.
As the money defrauded and stolen are the Malaysian taxpayers’ money, the Malaysian Government has a duty to get restitution from Lorrain Osman and to put him on trial for corruption.
The Malaysia Government has full powers to seek the extradition of Lorrain Osman from London to stand trial for corruption in connection with the RM2.5 billion BMF SCANDAL, AS THE Prevention of Corruption Act 1961 provides extra-territorial powers to the Malaysian Courts to try corruption offences committed overseas.
In fact, on 21st December 1984, the Ahmad Nordin Inquiry Committee into the BMF scandal submitted to the Bank Bumiputra and the authorities a Brief on Prima Facie Cases of Corruption together with exhibits. Although a report was made to the Anti-Corruption Agency in respect of the Brief on Prima Facie Cases of Corruption in January 1985, the Attorney General, Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman, has up till today taken no action.
It is not just Malaysian taxpayers’ money which had been defrauded and stolen, but lives had also been lost. A Bank Bumiputra internal auditor, Jalil Ibrahim, was murdered in Hong Kong in 1983, and in 1984, a lawyer for Carrian was found drowned in mysterious circumstances in his swimming pool in Hong Kong.
DAP calls on the Cabinet to take a policy decision whether it is content to let the BMF scandal end in such an unsatisfactory manner, without anyone knowing the real causes and personalities involved in the BMF scandal, or whether the Cabinet is going to pursue where the Hong Kong Government has left off- to demand extradition of Lorrain Osman from England to Malaysia to stand trial for corruption.
Malaysian government must overhaul its entire nation building policy to encourage merit and eliminate subsidy-mentality if Malaysia is to enjoy competitive edge in the world marketplace
Last week, the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir declared that ‘competitiveness must become a way of life for Malaysians’, urging all Malaysians to make ‘being competitive a thoroughly Malaysian characteristic, embraced by all segments of society’.
He said that for Malaysia, a small player in the global arena, the hope lies in being more competitive so that it can export its products even when faced with protectionist barriers.
If Dr. Mahathir is serious in wanting Malaysia to enjoy the competitive edge in the world marketplace, then the country must undergo a mental revolution, with the government setting the pace in overhauling its entire nation-building policy to encourage merit and eliminate subsidy-mentality.
The policy of ethnic quotas and percentages should be replaced with a non-ethnic policy which encourages merit coupled with need, whether in economic or educational fields.
For instance, there was a report yesterday that a 13-year old British boy is heading for Oxford University after passing his final school examinations in biology and chemistry with top grades. This boy, Adam Dent, who had been educated by his mother for the past four years, had obtained results last Thursday from his A levels – which are normally taken by school leavers at the age of 17 or 18.
Is this scenario possible in Malaysia? Definitely not. This shows how rigid is our education systems which clearly is not compatible to encourage competitiveness, merit and excellence, particularly at the university level.