Khamis, 7 April 2011

Lim Guan Eng

Lim Guan Eng


Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed Should Step Aside As MACC Commissioner

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 11:47 PM PDT

Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed Should Step Aside As MACC Commissioner Until Investigations Into The Death Of Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed Is Complete Following Abu Kassim's Provocative, Malicious And Ill-Intentioned Remarks That The Death Should Not Be Exploited Or Manipulated By Certain Quarters For Their Personal Interests.

DAP suggests that Datuk Seri Abu Kassim Mohamed should step aside as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Commissioner until investigations into the death of Customs Officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed is complete. DAP had had some respect for Datuk Seri Abu Kassim for his efforts to try to clean up and restore some professionalism into MACC, which lost public confidence following the debacle of the death of DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock under Abu Kassim's predecessor.

Datuk Seri Abu Kassim did not entirely succeed because of the secretive and mysterious nature of its methods and operations control of MACC, its lack of independence from the Attorney-General and the Federal government, as well as double-standards in failing to take action against blatant corrupt practices by BN leaders including Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud. However the latest death of Ahmad Sarbani on the first floor open-air badminton court of the MACC KL Building yesterday undid and undermined all Datuk Seri Abu Kassim's efforts to make a difference. Datuk Seri Abu's accompanying provocative remarks can not be ignored.

Datuk Seri Abu Kassim was malicious and full of ill-intentions with the malicious remarks that "he hoped that the death would not be "exploited or manipulated by certain quarters for their personal interests". Such provocative remarks display not only a guilty conscience but an attempt to gag and stop others from pursuing the truth and justice into the latest tragic death in the MACC.

MACC must realise that no one other than the MACC is to blame and be held responsible for this latest tragic death in the MACC. To describe as "exploiters and manipulators", those pursuing the truth and justice into this latest tragic death, is just irresponsible. The public would not have faith in the promise by MACC to launch a comprehensive internal probe into this latest death when MACC could not fully explain or take responsibility for the death of Teoh Beng Hock.

For this reason there must be a 3-stage approach of ensuring there is no more tragic case of a corruption suspect walking in alive into MACC offices alive but coming out dead. One, setting up a new Royal Commission of Inquiry that complies and fulfils international norms of natural justice into this latest tragic death. Secondly there must be full revamp of MACC, conducted by Transparency International and armed with full powers to effect any changes necessary whether the Federal government likes it or not, to become an effective and professional anti-corruption agency. Third, Datuk Abu Kassim must temporarily step aside until the investigations into this latest tragic death is completed.

A Full Commission Of Inquiry Into The Death Of Ahmad Sarbani And An Independent Review By Transparency International Of MACC’s Operations And Methods To Fully Revamp MACC.

Posted: 06 Apr 2011 07:44 PM PDT

DAP extends condolences to the family of Selangor Customs Assistant Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed who was found dead on the first floor open-air badminton court of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission(MACC) KL Building in Jalan Cochrane this morning. DAP is outraged that there is still another death within the grounds of the MACC after the still unresolved tragic death of Teoh Beng Hock. Will the MACC never wake up and learn?

MACC director of investigations Datuk Mustafar Ali said Ahmad was among those detained on April 1 in a nationwide operation for graft involving unpaid taxes and released on bail the next day. Datuk Mustafar said Ahmad was believed to have fallen to his death from the 3rd floor of the KL MACC Building.

According to Datuk Mustafar, Ahmad was with an MACC officer until 10.15am. The MACC officer then left the room for a few minutes to call the investigating office and on his return, he found Ahmad missing. Ahmad’s body was found lying on the first floor open-air badminton court at 10.20am.

The death of Ahmad and chain of events leading to his death, gives a tragic sense déjà vu and is a chilling reminder of the death of DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock in the Selangor MACC HQ. Despite the promises by MACC that there will no repeat of such cases after Teoh Beng Hock's death and the tenure of the then Director-General was not extended, the death of Ahmad shows that MACC had not learnt from the tragic lessons of Teoh's death.

Malaysians do not believe claims by some BN leaders that Teoh committed suicide. Instead they believe that Teoh was murdered. The question remains whether the government is serious about finding out who was responsible and taking action. The tragic death of Ahmad would only deepen suspicion and distrust as well as shatter any public confidence left in the operational and interrogation methods of MACC.

DAP calls for a full Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI) into the death of Ahmad. This RCI should determine cause of death, punish the culprits responsible and implement safeguards to ensure that suspects are no longer injured or die unnecessary deaths whilst in MACC custody.

At the same time there must be a full revamp of MACC to determine whether MACC can carry out its anti-corruption duties effectively, efficiently, impartially and professionally without causing harm or death to its suspects. The failure of MACC to investigate corruption allegations against Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud shows a clear case of double-standards and systems failure in enforcing the law equally.

A MACC without any public credibility shows that the BN government is not serious about fighting corruption. As part of this full revamp, DAP calls on the Federal government to establish an independent review by Transparency International of MACC's operations and methods.

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