Speech (Part 2) by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjung, Lim Kit Siang, on the second 1994 Supplementary Supply and Development Estimates in Dewan Rakyat on Monday, July 11, 1994
Tan Sri Osman Aroff resign as Kedah Mentri Besar as he has changed his mind in suing Syed Mansor bin Syed Salim to clear his name against corruption charges
Although I hope the Parliamentary Secretary to he Finance Minister, Datuk Dr. Affifudin Omar, who presented these supplementary estimates could give an assurances during his winding-up that action would be taken to rectify the corruption, misappropriation of funds and gross mismanagement in FELCRA. I have my grave doubts whether he has the power to rectify them.
This is because both UMNO and the Barisan Nasional Government do not have a good record in fighting corruption and all forms of abuses of power in government.
If UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders enjoy immunity from prosecution although they are corrupt or have unaccountably extraordinary wealth completely disproportionate to their known sources of income, how can the people expect serious government efforts to wipe out corruption and abuses of power in Felcra?
Although UMNO recently held a special General Assembly to amend the party constitution purportedly to fight ‘money politics’, it would not be meaningful in the overall battle against corruption so long as UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders enjoy the immunity from prosecution for corruption offences.
Recently, we see the spectacle of Dr. Jeffrey Kitangan being declared ‘clean and incorrupt’ because the seven charges of corruption preferred against him were withdrawn after he joined the Barisan Nasional.
This is the best proof that Barisan Nasional leaders enjoy immunity as far as corruption is concerned, and that such immunity is extended to those who later join the Barisan Nasional!
I will give another example to show the double standards of UMNO in the case of politics of money and corruption.
Recently, the Kedah Mentri Besar, Tan Sri Osman Aroff was publicly accused of corruption by Kedah businessman, Syed Mansor bin Syed Salim and Tan Sri Osman Aroff publicly announced that he would institute legal institutions to clear his name and reputation.
However, a few days later, Tan Sri Osman Aroff announced that he would not institute legal proceedings against Syed Mansor.
This has given the public the impression that Tan Sri Osman Aroff has no confidence that he could clear his name and reputation in a court action against Syed Mansor, and if this is the case, Tan Sri Osman Aroff should resign as Kedah Mentri Besar.
This is because Syed Mansor, who had also lodged police reports against Tan Sri Osman Aroff, had made very serious charges against the Kedah Mentri Besar.
Syed Mansor’s serious and open charges of corruption and malpractices against Osman Aroff
For instance, Syed Mansor had publicly made the following charges against Tan Sri Osman Aroff:
• Bahawa Osman Aroff hidup mewah termasuk rumah-rumah mewah di Jalan Menteri dan 1929U, Taman Darulaman, Jalan Stadium, Alor Setar dan anak-anaknya mempunyai kereta-kereta mewah KU2, KAB 11, KY 1 dan KH 1;
• Bahawa Osman Aroff mengambil tambah tiga lot tanah kerajaan di Jalan Menteri tanpa mengikut peraturan dan amalan-amalan biasa kerajaan;
• Bahawa Osman Aroff telah membeli tanah Lot 561, Jalan Menteri kepunyaan Chartered Bank melalui SYARIKAT IS MASSIVE SDN. BHD. dengan harga RM600,000 dengan menggunakan nama IZHAR SULAIMAN sebagai director syarikat;
• Bahawa Osman Aroff telah membeli empat keping tanah GM471, Lot: 2209, GM472 Lot: 2210, GM473, Lot: 2211 dan GM474, Lot: 2212 kesemuanya dalam Mukim Alor Malai bersama sebuah bungalow diatasnya berdekatan Taman Mahkota, Jalan Stadium, Alor Setar dengan menggunakan nama IZHAR SULAIMAN. Rumah bungalow yang dibeli dengan harga lebih kurang RM1 juta telah dibiarkan kosong selama dua tahun;
• Bahawa Osman Aroff telah menjalankan perniagaan bersama KUARI SDN. BHD. dengan menjamin syarikat tersebut sebanyak RM31,163,024.60 mengikut Kes Sibil C23-129-1986 di Mahkamah Tinggi Kuala Lumpur yang disaman oleh Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd. terhadapnya;
• Bahawa bagi menjelaskan hutang-hutangnya dengan Bank Bumiputra Malaysia Bhd., sman Aroff telah memberi kontrak-kontrak Kerajaan Negeri khasnya kepada seorang bernama IZHAR SULAIMAN, K/P No. 1653148 beralamat 83-A, Sri Taman, Jalan Sultanah, 0350 Alor Star, Kedah.
• Bahawa Osman Aroff telah melantik penama diatas iaitu IZHAR SULAIMAN sebagai proxynya dalam SISMA MANAGEMENT SDN. BHD. yang mendapati kontrak kerajaan negeri berharga RM354 juta untuk pengswastaan pembersihan air selama 15 tahun. Osman Aroff juga telah memberi keistimewaan ‘favour’ kepada syarikat ini membayar bon perlaksaan sebanyak RM1.2 juta yang sepatutnya RM17 juta iaitu 5% daripada jumlah kos projek RM354 juta.
• Bahawa Osman Aroff telah memberi kontrak pembinaan jeti Kuala Kedah berharga lebih kurang RM8 juta kepada Syarikat Harijaya (M) Sdn. Bhd. beralamat di 1934, Jalan Stadium, Alor Star, Kedah Darui Aman. Syarikat ini juga memperolehi kontrat pembinaan bangunan pejabat daerah Langkawi.
• Bahawa Osman Arpff telah menggunakan nama IZHAR BIN SULAIMAN dalam Syarikat Ideal Appraisal Sdn. Bhd. beralamat di No. 23, Tingkat Satu Seberang Jalan Putra. Oleh kerana kepentingannya dalam syarikat ini, Osman Aroff telah menggunakan kuasanya sebagai Pengerusi PKNK memberi ambil tanah-tanah dari kawasan belakang Taman Ria Sungai Petani hingga ke kawasan Sungai Lalang bekeluasan melebihi 7,000 ekar dengan nilain pampas an melebihi RM500 juta.
These are serious allegations, as the credibility and integrity of Osman Aroff comes under grave question when he dare not go through with his public announcement to institute legal proceedings to clear his name and reputation!
If Barisan Nasional leaders dare to accuse me of financial impropriety in the DAP Save Bukit China Fund, I will sue them for defamation within 24 hours of their allegation
I have been questioned by UMNO backbenchers why I dare not institute legal action against allegations of financial improprieties about the DAP Save Bukit China Fund.
There is no impropriety whatsoever in the DAP Save Bukit China Fund. All Malaysians know the political culture in the country where opposition leaders who have misappropriated one sen would be arrested and prosecuted in court, while Barisan Nasional who are corrupt on the scale of hundreds of millions of ringgit and even billions of ringgit go scot-free without fear of arrest or prosecution.
MCA and Gerakan had lodged at least 40 to 50 police reports about the DAP Save Bukit China Fund. And if there is financial impropriety of DAP leaders, the police would have taken action long ago.
In fact, the strongest certificate that DAP leaders are clean, honest and upright with regard to the DAP Save Bukit China Fund is that the police had not been able to take any action against the DAP despite forty or fifty reports lodged by the MCA and Gerakan in the past several years!
Up to now, the MCA and the Gerakan had been making use of nonentities and ‘men of straw’ to make allegations of financial improprieties in connection with the DAP Save Bukit China Fund.
DAP will not waste time on these MCA and Gerakan nonentities and ‘men of straw’. But let me warn here that if Barisan Nasional leaders dare to publicly accuse me of financial impropriety on the DAP Save Bukit China Fund, I will institute defamation proceedings against them within 24 hours of their allegation!
How can UMNO and Barisan Nasional MPs accept a ‘liar’ as their ‘leader’ as Lim Keng Yaik has not been able to produce any evidence of a DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta Meting on April 16, 1990 after five years
Some UMNO MPs raised my defamation suit against Gerakan President and Minister for Primary Industries, Datuk Dr. Lim Keng Yaik which was struck out by the Kuala Lumpur High Court on June 10.
These UMNO MPs do not read newspapers or they would have known that I have on Saturday filed new defamation proceedings against Keng Yaik, as the striking out of my suit by the Kuala Lumpur High Court was over a technicality and not because of the merits of the defamation action.
What UMNO and Barisan Nasional MPs should be more concerned is how they could continue to have ‘a liar as a leader’ and to allow Keng Yaik to be in the Cabinet.
The issue of my defamation suit against Keng Yaik is straightforward and very simple – whether there is any truth in his allegation of a DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta meeting on April 16, 1990.
As Keng Yaik has not been able to produce an iota of evidence of such a DAP-PAS Secret Jakarta meeting on April 16, 1990 in the past four years, how could we have the morality to continue as Cabinet Minister?
Is the RM73 million ‘golden hand-shake’ given to Datuk Khalid Ibrahim by PNB proper and in the interests of the 1.34 million ASN unitholders?
The Dewan Rakyat is asked to approve RM100 million as paid-up capital for Kumpulan Khazanah Nasional Bhd. (KKNB), which will be responsible for all government investments in companies, running into billions of ringgit.
This brings to mind the recent RM73 million ‘golden hand-shake’ given by PNB to its outgoing Chief Executive, Datuk Khalid Ibrahim on his appointment as Group Chief Executive of Guthrie.
As ‘golden handshake’, Khalid will initially acquire five per cent or 50 million Guthrie shares at RM2.50 each. This is a hefty discount over the market price of RM3.96 as on June 16, the day the deal was announced. The prices of Guthrie shares have range between RM2.80 and RM5.95 this year. Khalid will also be given the option to buy an additional 10 per cent of Guthrie shares at a discount and another five per cent at market price over the next three years.
The first option of five percent is worth RM73 million – if Khalid sold the shares at market price.
The question is whether such a RM73 million ‘golden handshake’ given by PNB to Khalid is proper and in the interest of the 1.34 million ASN untholders.
I understand that Tan Sri Mohd. Sheriff bin Mohd. Kassim will take over as Chairman of Khazanah Holdings. Can Tan Sri Sheriff or future chief executives of Khazanah Holdings expect ‘golden hand-shakes’ as generous as the RM73 million ‘golden handshake’ given to Khalid by PNB?
I am sure that the RM73 million ‘golden handshake’ given to Khalid by PNB hadthe approval of the Prime Minister and the Deputy Prime Minister. Can they justify the rationale for giving approval for such a RM73 million ‘golden handshake’ for the former Chief Executive of PNB?
DAP calls on Finance Ministry to make regular annual allocations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools
I wish to express my great disappointment that the supplementary estimates do not contain provision for regular and annual allocations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
In the Sabah state general elections, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim announced an allocation of RM5 million to the nine Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Sabah for the next five years.
The Finance Ministry should be fair to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, whether in Sabah or in Peninsular Malaysia, and I had expected regular annual financial allocations to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in the previous batch of supplementary estimates in the April meeting of Parliament or in this Parliamentary meeting.
However, there is not a single sen of allocation for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
I call on the Finance Ministry to make regular annual allocations to all Chinese Independent Secondary Schools as it has made RM5 million allocation to the nine Chinese Independent Secondary Schools in Sabah.
DAP calls on the Finance Ministry to announce tax exemption for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, and not just to MCA
DAP also calls on the Finance Ministry to announce tax exemption for all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
At present, only donations for Chinese Independent Secondary Schools made through MCA enjoy tax exemption. This is most unfair and illogical. Is this decision on educational political decision to help Chinese Independent Secondary Schools or is it a political decision to help MCA to take over Chinese Independent Secondary Schools?
I hope the Parliamentary Secretary to the Finance Ministry in his winding-up could announce that the Finance Ministry will grant tax exemption to all donations to Chinese Independent Secondary Schools, regardless of whether they are made through MCA or directly to the Chinese Independent Secondary Schools.
Bank Negara should suspend liquidation proceedings of Mercantile Insurance Sdn. Bhd. until Parliament has passes amendments to Insurance Act to provide protection to Mercantile policyholders and claimants
Bank Negara should suspend liquidation proceedings of Mercantile Insurance Sdn. Bhd. until Parliament has passed amendments to the Insurance act to provide protection to Mercantile policy holders and claimants.
Bank Negara must assume full responsibility for the dilemma faced by Mercantile Insurance policy holders as Bank Negara had given a ‘business-as-usual’ public undertaking when it took over the company in April 1991.
It was based on his Bank Negara undertaking that the Mercantile Insurance policyholders renewed or bought new insurance policies with Mercantile, and it is most irresponsible for Bank Negara to leave the Mercantile policyholders in the lunch by liquidating the company without taking their interest into account.
What is even more shocking is that the JPJ has announced that motorists with Mercantile Insurance policies would be prosecuted in the courts.
Surely, the Mercantile Insurance policies are still valid until the courts have approved the application of Bank Negara to liquidate the company!
Call on Finance Ministry to ensure that the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council stop its profiteering attitude in pricing the Highland Towers Collapse Disaster Inquiry Report at RM1,600 per set
Finally, I call on the Finance Ministry to ensure that the Amping Jaya Municipal Council stop it profiteering attitude in pricing the Highland Towers Collapse Disaster Inquiry Report at RM1,600 per set.
It is clear that the cost of printing 1,000 sets of the Inquiry Report could not be RM1.6 million – and the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council had acted most irresponsibly in trying to profiteer from the tragedy.
It is in the public interest that the Highland Towers Disaster Inquiry Report should be made available to the public at a reasonable price, and I hope that the Ministry of Finance could intervene on this matter.