Author: Kit

Investigations into the serious corruption allegations against the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director general Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor is getting even more curiouser and curiouser by the day.

The attempt by ACA’s former Disciplinary Management Centre chief and currently ACA Negri Sembilan director, Halim Ibrahim to publicly exonerate the ACA chief by revealing details of Zulkipli’s various declaration of assets in public service is not only most unusual, unprecedented but questionable.

Is the ACA trying to derail and sabotage task force investigations into serious corruption allegations against ACA chief by unilaterally releasing unverified information about Zulkifli’s assets declarations? Continue reading “ACA trying to derail task force investigations into ACA chief’s corruption allegations?”

The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)’s former Disciplinary Management Centre chief and currently ACA Negri Sembilan director, Halim Ibrahim did a most unusual thing for the ACA yesterday — publicly exonerating the ACA Director-General Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor by revealing details of Zulkipli’s various declaration of assets in public service. (New Sunday Times)

Zulkipli had made the declaration on three occasions since 1988.

The first declaration, approved in 1999, was when Zulkipli was Johor police chief.

The second declaration on Sept 14, 2003, was said to be approved by the then Chief Secretary to the Government on March 25, 2004.

The third declaration was sent to the Public Service Department on July 7 last year.

Halim said Zulikipli listed five properties — none in Pagoh, Johor, and no business interests –in his declaration of assets to the department.

I do not wish here to dwell on the details of Zulkipli’s three declarations of assets publicly disclosed by Halim.

While welcoming such publication, ACA should as a matter of policy and principle adopt an open and transparent culture and not be selective in releasing information to suit the needs of its masters, whether political or bureaucratic. Continue reading “ACA DG Zulkipli’s three declarations of assets do not tally with two vettings stated by PM”

The case of the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General, Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor is getting curiouser and curiouser – panning out even to raise serious questions about the efficiency, competence and credibility of the Police, the Attorney-General’s Chambers, the Cabinet and the Prime Minister.

Firstly, the Sun today in its front-page headline story, “Papers with AG — Police resubmit investigation file on ACA chief to Attorney-General” reported the disclosure by the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan that Kuala Lumpur police investigated the complaints on sexual crimes and assault allegedly committed by Zulkipli against a housewife in 1997 and later submitted investigation papers to the AG’s Chambers.

However, as the AG had not reverted to the police on the next course of action, a fresh submission was made yesterday.

The New Straits Times in its front-page report “GRAFT AND SEXUAL ABUSE ALLEGATIONS – SPEED UP PROBE ON ACA CHIEF — Attorney-general tells IGP” tells quite a different story.

NST quoted the Attorney-General Tan Sri Gani Patail that Zulkipli was cleared years ago of a claim of sexually abusing a woman after a thorough investigation into the sexual assault allegation in July 1997. The police investigation papers (IP) were submitted to the AG’s chambers on Oct. 24, 1997, and the AG’s Chambers found there were no grounds to prosecute Zulkipli, and the case was filed as “No Further Action” (NFA) needed.

Secondly, on the serious corruption charges against Zulkipli, the IGP was conspicuously silent but the NST reported Gani as saying that he had told Musa “to speed up the investigations into these allegations”.

Gani said the investigations would include checks against the asset declaration made by Zulkipli — “We compare these asset declarations to how one pays or finances one’s properties”, which would include “checks on the financial position of one’s family members to ascertain their contribution to the household income”.

Here Zulkipli is caught “red-handed” telling a lie that he had been cleared of serious corruption charges made against him, as he told the NST in its report yesterday: “Zulkipli called the charges ‘baseless’ and said prior to his appointment as director-general, he had been vetted and cleared by both the ACA and police.” Continue reading “Sack Zulkipli as ACA DG for telling lie that he had been cleared of serious corruption allegations”

Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) Director-General Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor has responded to very serious allegations of “being a very corrupt senior police officer who had amassed substantial property and assets through corrupt means” made against him by a former top ACA officer, Mohamad Ramli Manan while still in service in July last year before his retirement on December 8, 2006.

Zulkipli told New Straits Times: “Let the law take its course”.

He said that the allegations were “part and parcel of the agency’s operations”

He added:

“There are a lot of challenges in our line of work. Some (people) may be happy, some, of course, may not. The bottom line is justice must be done.

“In this context, certainly I do not want to get involved in matters, issues or allegations that have the tendency to belittle or tarnish the good image of an individual.”

Apart from the “Let the law take its course” statement, Zulkipli’s comments are not helpful at all in throwing light on the very serious corruption allegations which had been made against him by Ramli. The ACA head seems to have mastered the art of making statements which mean nothing at all.

While the law must undoubtedly be allowed to “take its course”, the immediate concern of all Malaysians serious about the pledge of the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi when he became the fifth Prime Minister and during the 2004 general election campaign to give top priority to anti-corruption is whether Zulkipli can continue to helm the ACA with these serious corruption allegations hanging over his head. Or whether the ACA will be further incapacitated with such a person as its head. Continue reading “Zulkipli and Ramli’s date with Parliamentary Select Committee – March 12”

The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general, Datuk Zulkipli Mat Noor should appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to clear all doubts that he is qualified to continue to helm the anti-corruption agency.

I will propose at today’s meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee that Zulkipli be summoned to appear at an emergency meeting to respond to various serious allegations which had been made against him, ranging from corruption to sexual crimes, which must not remain unrebutted so as to salvage the credibility, legitimacy and authority of the ACA.

If Zulkipli is not prepared to appear before the Parliamentary Select Committee to establish his integrity in an emergency meeting, he must be removed as the ACA head. The Cabinet should put this item on the top of its agenda at its meeting tomorrow.

Malaysiakini yesterday reported these allegations which were filed last year by former ACA officer Mohamad Ramli Manan to the then inspector-general of police Mohd Bakri Omar.

In the July 4, 2006 report, Ramli named the ACA chief – who is a former top cop – and referred to him as ‘B1’.

“As you are aware, B1 was a member of your police force and his last appointment there was as Sarawak chief police officer. It has come to the knowledge of the ACA that B1 was a very corrupt senior police officer and had amassed substantial property and assets through corrupt practices,” he told Mohd Bakri in his report.

Ramli claimed that in 1997 – when Zulkipli was Johor police chief – the ACA had then learnt that he was “in possession of properties disproportionate to his known source of income” and had indulged in “immoral and criminal” activities.

Apart from this, Ramli also disclosed that the police had allegedly investigated Zulkipli in connection with a sexual crime following a report filed by a housewife with the Dang Wangi police station in Kuala Lumpur. Continue reading “ACA Zulkipli must establish his integrity or be removed immediately”