by Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong, Lim Kit Siang, in Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, September 27, 1994:
Police had right, from the beginning mishandled the investigation into the allegation that Rahim had an affair with a 15-year-old girl.
The Police had right from the beginning mishandled the investigation into the allegation that Malacca Chief Minister, Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik, had an affair with a 15-year-old girl.
On Saturday, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Datuk Samsuri Arshad said in Penang that the police would inter¬view Rahim soon, and that the police were now recording state¬ments from several witnesses including expert witnesses.
It is most shocking and unbelievable that the Police had not interrogated Rahim Tamby Cik after more than a month of investigations and that Rahim is allowed to go on an extended holiday overseas!
Malaysians are not only perplexed but are beginning to be outraged by the police mishandling of the investigation.
In the police investigation into such an allegation, the two key personalities would be Rahim and the 15-year-old girl, and they should be the first two to be interviewed by the Police. Why didn’t, the Police do this?
Why has the police held the 15-year-old schoolgirl in custody depriving her of her freedom of movement since August 30, while the Police had not even interviewed Rahim Tamby Cik – and even allowed him to go overseas on holiday ‘leave’?
Whatever ‘expert witnesses’ the police want should come after the police had interviewed the two key personalities in the allegation first!
Police sources said that the present case involve intricate medical examinations, which may involve the use of some of the most sophisticated scientific methods of evidence gather¬ing.
The sources say that only after completing the girl’s side of the investigations, including the all-important, medical corroboration, will police begin questioning Rahim as “given the gravity of the allegation and the personality involved, the investigators will have to make sure their conclusions are water¬tight”.
It would appear that there is even a possibility that the police may decide not to interview Rahim on the ground of inadequate “medical corroboration”.
This is most shocking. Although I agree that in ordinary cases, the police must be very careful in dealing with grave allegations involving important personalities like the Malacca Chief Minister, the Rahim Tamby Cik case is completely different.
This is because the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamed had himself on August 24 ordered a full investi¬gation into the allegation of Rahim Tamby Cik’s affair with a 15-year-old girl. Furthermore, Rahim has himself publicly agreed to be investigated on the allegation.
In the circumstances, Rahim should have been the first two persons to be interrogated by the police, so as to get a preliminary statement from Rahim.
The police could interrogate Rahim for further state¬ments after it had continued with its investigations and the police failure to take preliminary statement from Rahim borders on negligence.
The police must not only be fair, but must be seen to be fair in its investigations into the Rahim scandal. The police should direct Rahim to return from the holiday leave overseas immediately so as to interrogate him – something the police should have done one month ago!