Jun 7, 11 | MalaysiaKini
DAP stalwart and Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang has called on the prime minister and cabinet to override the police and attorney-general’s (AG) call for an inquest into senior customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed’s death, and replace it with a full-blown royal commission of inquiry (RCI).
Lim (left) said such a move will restore public confidence in national institutions and also in the prime minister and cabinet.
“I have no qualms in admitting that I have reservations about the Teoh Beng Hock RCI, particularly over the conduct and strategy adopted by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its counsel Muhammad Shafie Abdullah who could make the outrageous suggestion that Teoh had committed ‘honour suicide’, but Malaysians are currently being deprived of a more satisfactory option to get to the bottom of Ahmad Sarbani’s death,” he said in a statement.
“I hope my reservations over the Teoh RCI are proven wrong. However, the cabinet’s immediate task is to act boldly and justly into the death of Ahmad Sarbani. Let Najib Abdul Razak and his cabinet ministers not disappoint Malaysians once again tomorrow.”
Police had last Friday filed an application for an inquest to determine the circumstances leading to the death of the Selangor Customs assistant director. The application was submitted at the Kuala Lumpur court complex.
Ahmad Sarbani’s (left) sudden death caught the country by surprise as the MACC was swooping to carry out investigations over allegations of Custom officers being on the take and causing the country millions of ringgit in losses.
The death on April 7 also happened in the midst of the Teoh RCI looking into the cause of death and MACC’s investigation procedures. Ahmad Sarbani died after falling from the third floor of the MACC Kuala Lumpur headquarters.
Police have classified the case as sudden death. Friends of Ahmad Sarbani when interviewed on the day he was buried said they suspected foul play as he had allegedly gone to the MACC to retract his statement.
Lim said Najib and his cabinet are facing another test on whether they dare to act boldly to override the AG and the police by establishing an RCI on Ahmad Sarbani’s death.
“Or are they just ‘sitting ducks’ waiting for a change of government in Putrajaya in the next general election?” said the hard-hitting DAP leader.