Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) director of investigations Datuk Mohd Shukri Abdul announced yesterday that the MACC will stop indefinitely investigating politicians across the political divide for corruption and money politics, including the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal.
He said his men felt that they could not carry out their duties effectively in cases involving politicians as they were being slammed no matter what they did.
Shukri has evaded the burning crisis of confidence confronting the MACC – why in a matter of seven months, public confidence in the MACC has plummeted to a level never plumbed by its predecessor the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) in 41 years from 1967 – 2008 although MACC was established on 1.1.2009 with unprecedented powers to be Malaysia’s version of Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) of Hong Kong?
The answer is obvious to all Malaysians except the MACC – it has failed to act as an efficient, independent and professional anti-corruption body declaring an all-out war against corruption but instead declared an all-out war against the Pakatan Rakyat, being the catspaw of Umno and Barisan Nasional in the various states under Pakatan Rakyat, whether in the unethical, undemocratic, illegal and unconstitutional power grab in Perak or most recently, in trying to topple the Pakatan Rakyat state government in Selangor.
The MACC denied that their officers were responsible for the injury sustained by Wong Chuan How, 51, aide to DAP Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu after a scuffle at his Sungai Pelek service centre on Friday morning. – which is eerily similar to the denial by MACC for any responsibility for the mysterious death of another Selangor Exco aide, Teoh Beng Hock, at the MACC headquarters in Shah Alam on July 16.
Are Malaysians to believe that Wong inflicted the injury on himself just as they are asked to believe that Teoh committed suicide by plunging to death from the 14th floor of MACC Headquarters at Plaza Masalam?
Up to now, MACC has not answered why its officers had acted in so high-handed, rough and gangsterish a fashion akin to Gestopa tactics in Wong’s case, including:
• Why did MACC decide to “arrest first and investigate later” as Wong had agreed to meet MACC officers in their investigation into alleged constituency allocation improprieties at his Sungai Pelek service centre on Friday morning?
• Did the MACC treat everybody alike and in the same fashion acted on “arrest first and investigate later” into the various Barisan Nasional leaders in major scandals like the RM12.5 billion Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) scandal, the RM24 million “Istana” Khir Toyo scandal; Kuala Dimensi Sdn. Bhd. CEO Datuk Tiong King Sing’s RM10 million donation to MCA President and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat and Ong’s “free” jet rides or the unprecedented allegations of money politics in the recent Umno party elections?
• Did the MACC “arrest first and investigate later” any Umno or Barisan Minister, Deputy Minister or leader?
• Has the MACC one law and standard operating procedure for the Pakatan Rakyat leaders and activists while a totally different one for the Barisan Nasional?
It is significant that Shukri’s outburst about MACC stopping investigating politicians is tied to stop of investigations into the “mother of all scandals” in Malaysia – the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal, which the MACC (and its predecessor ACA) had failed miserably to flush out all corrupt and improper practices although various anti-corruption reports had been lodged in the past four years.
Can Shukri explain why he deliberately mentioned the RM12.5 billion PKFZ scandal?
Pakatan Rakyat is not asking for any immunity from anti-corruption probe by the MACC but MACC should conduct independent and professional investigations and not act as catspaw of Umno and Barisan Nasional to declare war on Pakatan Rakyat, using Gestapo-like tactics.
Has the MACC any remorse that it has directly or indirectly caused the death of Teoh Beng Hock just as it is directly or indirectly responsible for the injury sustained by Wong?
DAP and Pakatan Rakyat are prepared to fully co-operate with MACC in an all-out war against corruption, as an anti-corruption campaign must be a national commitment involving all Malaysians and not just MACC, if it is to succeed. But how can MACC expect any full co-operation from DAP or Pakatan Rakyat when it has declared an all-out war against Pakatan Rakyat at the behest of Umno/National Front, which has nothing to do with any anti-corruption drive?
All the five MACC advisory panels should convene emergency meetings to halt the MACC abuses of power in declaring war against Pakatan Rakyat instead of declaring war against corruption or all the five advisory panels should resign collectively at their failure to perform their statutory role as effective check-and-balance mechanisms of the MACC as evident from the worse crisis of confidence ever faced by an anti-corruption body in the nation’s 52 year history.
This is not a good way to mark the nation’s 52nd National Day in two weeks’ time!
The five MACC advisory panels are:
• Anti-Corruption Advisory Board headed by former Chief Justice of Malaysia Tun Abdul Hamid Mohamad;
• Special committee on corruption headed by former Home Minister, Datuk Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad;
• Complaints committee headed by former Court of Appeal judge Datuk Mohd Nor Abdullah
• Operations review panel headed by former Auditor-General Dr. Hadenan Abdul Jalil
• Corruption consultation and prevention panel headed by former Transparency International President Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam
It is time that the 42 panel members for these five bodies act to salvage and restore public confidence in MACC’s credibility, independence and professionalism and even more important redeem Malaysia’s international reputation which had been battered by recent reports about MACC becoming a Gestapo-like outfit running riot in a war not against corruption but against the Pakatan Rakyat.
If the five MACC advisory panels are incapable of exercising effectively their statutory roles as check-and-balance mechanisms, they should resign collectively and ask for an emergency meeting of Parliament to take immediate action to remedy the fatal weaknesses and catastrophe in the MACC Act.