The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz told today that Tan Sri Bernard Dompok had reBerita Harian signed as Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity (PSCI) because the latter was frustrated that Nazri had objected to the PSCI calling the then Director-General of Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor to appear before the Select Committee. Dompok is also Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department.
Berita Harian’s report “Dompok kecewa JPN enggan temui PSCI” said:
Nazri yang menyifatkan kenyataan bekas pengerusi PSCI terhadapnya semalam sebagai pandangan peribadi berkata, Dompok sepatutnya memahami arahan Kabinet bahawa jawatankusasa seperti itu bukan berperanan sebagai badan penyiasat, sebaliknya hanya mengumpul maklumat daripada orang ramai mengenai sesuatu isu atau masalah.
“Keputusan Kabinet jelas… jawatankuasa itu hanya buat perbicaraan awam iaitu mengumpulkan maklumat, bukannya menyiasat kes yang ditimbulkan.
“Apa yang perlu mereka buat adalah iklankan dalam akhbar bila dan tempat mereka mahu buat perbicaraan awam untuk membolehkan orang ramai datang memberikan pandangan terhadap masalah atau isu.
“Jika dia (Dompok) tidak dengar cakap Kit Siang, tak jadi masalah, tetapi dia nak jadi badan penyiasat, kita tak setuju,” katanya.
Nazri owes PSCI, Parliament and Malaysians answers to three questions:
Firstly, why is he interfering with the autonomy of Parliament and the PSCI to conduct its own affairs, as if he is a Super-Minister for Parliamentary Affairs, more powerful than the Select Committees, their members and Chairmen;
Secondly, from Nazri’s statement, it is clear that the Cabinet has arrogated to itself powers to direct Parliamentary Select Committees how it should function — which makes a mockery of Parliamentary independence and accountability of Cabinet to Parliament;
Thirdly, why his double-standards and hypocrisy in opposing the ACA Director-General being invited to appear before PSCI while not objecting to the earlier appearance of Customs Director-General before the committee?
In July last year, the Customs Director-General Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid appeared before the PSCI to explain alleged questionable practices involving in the auctioning of confiscated luxury cars which had been raised in Parliament by the Barisan Nasional MP for Jasin, Mohd Said Yusof.
Can Nazri explain why he did not object to the Customs DG appearing before the PSCI but took such a truculent stand to prevent the then ACA DG, Zulkipli in having to appear before the PSCI on serious allegations of corruption in the ACA which had been made by whistleblower and former ACA Sabah Director Mohamad Ramli Manan.
At the first instance, both Zulkipli and Ramli had publicly stated their preparedness to appear before the PSCI to tell the whole truth with both claiming that they had nothing to hide.
Why then did Nazri coerced BN members on the PSCI to backtrack on their earlier decision to hold hearings for Zulkipli and Ramli resulting in the farce of the on-off-on-off PSCI hearing for Zulkipli and Mohamad Ramli — which seriously damaged the credibility and integrity of the PSCI?
Was it because Zulkipli could not back out of the PSCI hearing after publicly stating that he was prepared to attend as he had nothing to hide, and he needed Nazri’s help to extricate him from having to attend the PSCI hearing? If so, what had Zulkipli to hide? And what had Nazri to hide, in order for him to help the then ACA Director-General to hide from the PSCI?
The President of Transparency International, Malaysia, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam has called on Dompok to reconsider his resignation and urged the government to take “tough disciplinary action” against the National Registration Department for defiance of the PSCI in refusing to attend Tuesday’s hearing pertaining to the issue of false identity cards in Sabah.
There are two problems here: Firstly, the NRD’s refusal to attend PSCI hearing on integrity and good governance on the issue of identity cards in Sabah in particular with reference to the grave problem of extraordinary increase of foreigners in Sabah through false documentation appears to have the support of Nazri and other Cabinet Ministers.
Secondly, even if Dompok is prepared to reconsider his resignation as Chairman of PSCI, it is not clear that the Cabinet would agree to his continuing to serve in this capacity.
It would appear in the test of strength between Nazri and Dompok, the former is having an upper hand.
Undoubtedly, Dompok’s resignation as PSCI Chairman has precipitated a grave crisis in already-plummeting confidence, both national and international, in the political will of Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to “walk the talk” to fight corruption and promote integrity.
This is a very ominous way for Malaysia to celebrate our 50th Merdeka anniversary.
Before the start of the March meeting of Parliament, , the Prime Minister had urged Barisan Nasional Backbenchers Club (BNBBC) members to perform “something extraordinary” to bring back the glory days of parliamentarians in line with the country’s 50th anniversary celebrations this year.
Is this “something extraordinary” the subversion of Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to the whims and fancies of the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs or the dishonouring of women MPs, Malaysian women, Parliament and the nation with crude, derogatory, sexist and gender-offensive statements in the House?
I call on Abdullah to give his personal attention to Dompok’s resignation as PSCI Chairman as well as the need to ensure that the PSCI have clear powers to function effectively without interference from any Minister or sabotage from any department or agency to carry out its terms of reference to help implement the National Integrity Plan.
PSCI just for show only.
Just like the 2 Royal Commissions on PDRM.
When you give BN the 90+ pct majority, they become prosecution, defence, judge and jury. No chance that they can police themselves.
What would you have Nazri do ? Allow the ex-ACA head to be grilled by the PSCI so that intelligently-asked questions and incriminating answers get leaked to the press ? So that the ACA and the Police are made to look stupid ? So that the PSCI can also haul Nazri up and grill him on the taxi licences issue ?
Let Nazri and his political masters dig a hole for themselves….at some point, they will find it difficult to climb out of that hole.
Like I said before, this Nazri guy is lower than the lowest life form. I wonder how his family can face such a man day in day out at home. Yea, money is blind. And with such big mouth and small brain helming such an important post in AAB’s admin, no wonder AAB is keeping quiet. End of the day, our PM will still remain dumb and his mouth zipped! As if nothing is going so gravely ill in the Parlaiment. BUt why should he make noise. Nazri is doing his battle for him. And if he succeeds, his reward will be great. Now you see why all the hooligans are so gung-ho in Parlaiment. THey are tryng to outdrown the others to show the PM that they too can be a great leader!
According to NST’s 18th May report of what Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said, the “wide gap between members of the cabinet and Dompok’s understanding of the committee’s scope and role†lies in cabinet’s view that the committee was formed to meet people, obtain feedback and collate information on issues relating to integrity and come up with ideas and suggestions to formulate programme or find ways to improve on policies , like all previous select committees and not investigate people or allegations of corruption against former ACA chief Zulkipli (as what Dompok and LKS thought it was) – see link http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Friday/National/20070518073346/Article/index_html
YB, think about it carefully and ask whether is there really a distinction?
How could one “obtain feedback and collate information on issues relating to integrity and come up with ideas and suggestions to formulate programme or find ways to improve on policies†without investigating claims and allegations of certain people who know or ought to know most about the subject and involved in the controversy by way of obtaining feedback?
In summoning :-
· Customs Director-General Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid to appear before the PSCI to explain alleged questionable practices involving in the auctioning of confiscated luxury cars which had been raised in Parliament by the Barisan Nasional MP for Jasin, Mohd Said Yusof; or
· former Sabah Anti-Corruption Agency chief Mohd Ramli Manan and former director-general Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor to give information after Ramli made allegations of corruption against Zulkipli; or
· the Director General or top officials of National Registration Department on the issuance of forged identity cards to foreigners in Sabah –
weren’t all these part of obtaining feedback and collating information on issues relating to integrity in order to come up with ideas and suggestions to formulate programme or find ways to improve on policies as what Nazri said the Cabinet intended?
I submit to you this is an artificial distinction and semantic play here in which the honourable Minister wants the Executive to be the sole arbiter of the differentiating criteria of what area it wants the Select Committee of Parliament on Integrity (PSCI) too look into and who to summon for the PSCI’s work, the underlying purpose of which, appears to be for the Executive to control and ensure that the PSCI makes the government look competent and committed to Integrity programmes as promised to win votes for the BN in elections, and not to really get to the bottom of things with the view to formulate integrity programmes or policies, if in that process (whether one calls it collating information/obtaining feedback or investigating), it makes the government or its officials look bad, corrupt, incompetent or mala fide, which would cost the BN votes in elections!
In a word, a select committee of Legislature manacled with the dictates and objectives of the Executive, bereft of real independence.
Is there any other way to look at it?
Godfather Says:
May 19th, 2007 at 5:04 pm
“When you give BN the 90+ pct majority, they become prosecution, defence, judge and jury. No chance that they can police themselves.”
True.
All these problems are brought about, firstly, by the machinations of the BN and secondly, by the stupidity of the electorate.
Uncle Lim, the solution now lies in your undoing what has been done.
See, everybody is hantam-ing Nazri. This is made possible because there is the PSCI. YB Lim, keep the PSCI going by remaining in the committee.
Anybody who knows Nazri’s past and present will not fail to see that he is such a shifty and shameless character, there is absolutely no credibility in this poor, pitiful minister.
Half the time he speaks nonsense, the other half he defends his nonsense.
It’s absolutely disgusting reading about him in the news. He is increasingly the bete noire of Malaysian politics, just like his damned UMNO colleagues – all men of clay who pose sententiously as demigods!
Customs DG appeared before the PSCI hearing because he had nothing to hide.
Former ACA DG was prepared to appear before the hearing as he said he had nothing to hide.
Former ACA Sabah Director was prepared to appear before the hearing as he said he had nothing to hide.
NRD DG or Officer refused to appear before the committee. Are there many things to hide?
YB Lim said,”…why his double-standards and hypocrisy in opposing the ACA DG being invited to appear before the PSCI…” Has the opposer something to hide?
If the committee has no clout whatsoever, then it should not have been formed in the first place.
bbtan,
good observation, the present custom DG is a man who is willing to face anyone and anywhere to discuss and share what he or his organisation is doing.He seems to be clean and I think he is clean. ut the others…ehmmmmm
This Nazri [deleted] is going to far, he thinks he is the judge and jury and what he says is the rule. Basically the govt is hiding stuff and the truth is better left untold and they will do anything to keep it that way by any means possible. The parliament is bocor in so many ways….sigh
Pak Lah please continue taking a nap
If Dompok has any balls, he should’ve childed that little Napoleon Nazri publicly and put him in his place instead of resigning. This guy seems to think he is the one running the country (while the PM sleeps?).
Frankly, I have little sympathy for Dompok. If he choses to behave like a mouse with his tail between his legs, people like Nazi will likewise treat him like a mouse. After all, UMNO is lord of all.
Nazri [deleted]. He barks, he bites but that the stick that is the PM from him and he will run away like the little scared kid that he really is.
I believe that there is a time bomb ticking in Sabah. [deleted] The government should do everything in it’s power to defuse the situation unless they memang no intention to defuse it.
The conditions include Sabah people sick and tired of the PTI, PTI acting like lords of Sabah, political domination by West Malaysia over local Sabahans, economic rape, widespread poverty and dissatisfaction, the very real possibility of the opposition winning in Sabah, diminishing political and economic power of the non-Muslim majority, religious extremism, large crime rate attributed to PTI. All this conditions seem to mirror that of Kuala Lumpur from 1964-1969.
Yes I do agree that the PM should step in now to help to resolve the issue. There’s also so many chaos happening lately everywhere from the never-ending defects issue on government buildings, the ‘bocor’ incident and this latest PSCI issue.
Why is the PM keeping quiet and seem not giving a word on these issues? He seems to always be busy overseas but yesterday however he appeared to bring good news to government servants on payrise.
Maybe he only wants to be seen always as Mr Niceguy in bringing ‘good news’ but does not want to get involved in ‘infamous situations’ or ‘scandals’ that were committed by his downline.
It will be a great difference if he steps in and probably would help create a better solution to these issues rather than leaving them to be solved by some of his useless ministers themselves.
“mengumpul maklumat daripada orang ramai mengenai sesuatu isu atau masalah.”
Isn’t that the very definition of “badan penyiasat”? Can’t you summon anyone for hearings to “kumpul maklumat”? Shouldn’t select committees be autonomous and able to summon any civil servant they want?
What’s the point of having a third-person committee as a check and balance on the cabinet if the very group they are suppose to be the check on won’t let them run their own affairs?
Here’s a primer on how select committees should be:
http://www.parliamentlive.tv/Films/ScrutinyUncovered/
Nazri, you have no grasp of logic, nor any inkling of democratic theory. So don’t dabble in what you don’t have experience of.
Keris Silau
Bocor teruk kata Samy
Wiring lama kata Ramli
Bangunan tua kata Nazri
Najib said it’s PWD
Semua ada alasan sendiri
But where you all spent the money?
RM90 juta untuk cantikkan lobby
So that it looks luxury
Nice décor and nice settee
But now you kena letak baldi
Bocor teruk when it rains heavily
MP yang busuk pun boleh mandi
The floor is wet and slippery
The luxury lobby now looks untidy
Inilah dia third class mentality
Luar cantik tapi dalam very shoddy
Structure work should get priority
And now whose responsibility
JKR or Parliament Committee
While you all gaduh sama sendiri
Rakyat want an answer immediately
Otherwise kita tak bagi you undi
Sebab you spent money unnecessarily
You know it is taxpayers’ money
So please spend the money wisely