MAHATHIR DONT YOU DARE OPEN THAT PANDORA’S BOX
YOU SEE NOW I HAVE TO DEAL WITH THE GHOST OF
TAN SRI NOR MOHAMED YAKCOP,THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB ITS A MESSAGE THAT EX FINANCE MINISTER II HAS TO GO. AFTERLL, HE IS A PAK LAH MAN.
TAN SRI NOR MOHAMAD’S POLITICAL SECRETARY COULD INVOLVED FOR RM2.0MILLION SCANDAL FOR SUSPECT OF CORRUPTION. IT IS THE OPEN SECRET THAT HIS SUPERIOR INVOLVED BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT WAS NEVER QUESTION. HE PROBABLY UPSET THE WRONG PERSON OR WAS IN THE WRONG UMNO FACTION. NOW THIS IS THE BEGINNING OF END OF
TAN SRI NOR MOHAMED YAKCOP,THE SACRIFICIAL LAMB FOR UMNO BEFORE DISAPPEARING FROM THE FACETHIS EARTH. THE GUY HAS NO POLITICAL CLOUT AND CAN BE MADE TO SHUT UP BEHIND THIS CHARADE, ITS A MESSAGE THAT FINANCE MINISTER II HAS TO GO. AFTERLL, HE IS A PAK LAH MAN.
FOLLOWING THE NABBING OF A POLITICAL SECRETARY – WITH RM2MILLION STASHED AT AN APARTMENT HE WAS STAYING AT NEAR BUTTERWORTH – THE ATTENTION NOW WOULD SURELY TURN TO THE SENIOR MINISTER HE IS WORKING FOR.
SEVERAL CLUES POINT TO THE SUSPECT BEING HASBIE SATTAR, THE POLITICAL SECRETARY TO MINISTER IN PRIME MINISTER’S DEPARTMENT, NOR MOHAMED YAKCOP, WHO IS IN CHARGE OF THE ECONOMIC PLANNING UNIT.
THE FOURTH FLOOR UNIT OF THE SRI MOLEK APARTMENT WAS SAID TO HAVE BEEN RENTED BY THE MINISTER’S ELECTION TEAM WEEKS BEFORE THE MARCH 8, 2008 GENERAL ELECTION AND LATER USED AS A TRANSIT HOME FOR THE MINISTER’S STAFF.
THE APARTMENT IS LOCATED AT TELUK AIR TAWAR, ON THE FRINGES OF THE TASEK GELUGOR PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCY, WHERE NOR IS THE MP.
HANKY PANKY IN PM’S DEPARTMENT : FOCUS ON A SENIOR MINISTER?
Following the nabbing of a political secretary – with RM2million stashed at an apartment he was staying at near Butterworth – the attention now would surely turn to the senior minister he is working for.
Several clues point to the suspect being Hasbie Sattar, the political secretary to Minister in Prime Minister’s Department, Nor Mohamed Yakcop, who is in charge of the Economic Planning Unit.
The fourth floor unit of the Sri Molek apartment was said to have been rented by the minister’s election team weeks before the March 8, 2008 general election and later used as a transit home for the minister’s staff.
The apartment is located at Teluk Air Tawar, on the fringes of the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary constituency, where Nor is the MP.
Besides the money – stacked in bundles of RM5, RM10, RM50 and RM100 – anti-graft officers who raided the place also seized a 4WD vehicle registered under the name of a Pulau Tikus-based company and a BMW registered in the name of a person from Sarawak. Coincidentally, Hasbie is a Sarawakian.
Political Secretary since Abdullah’s tenure as Prime Minister
He was appointed Nor’s political secretary during Abdullah’s tenure as PM and followed him to the Prime Minister’s Department after Najib took over the helm of the country in April last year.
Two months ago, there were speculative reports that the political secretary was under the scrutiny of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission for corruption and abuse of power.
He had reportedly a ‘substantial but unaccountable assets’ in his possession, which include luxury cars and homes.
The MACC, at that time, had reportedly obtained an order to freeze several of the properties as well as his bank accounts to facilitate investigations under the Anti- Money Laundering Act.
It was also said to be focusing on alleged kickbacks received from the approval of several multi-million ringgit projects.
It is believed several of the properties seized were under the names of people believed to be proxies for the political secretary, and investigators are expected to question people whose names are registered as owners.
At this moment, there is neither talk nor reports that Nor too is being investigated. No doubt, however, there would be quarters also calling for a probe into the minister.
Prior to winning the Tasek Gelugor parliamentary seat, he was a Senator and the Finance Minister II under the administration of former Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. In such position, one could imagine how close the minister was at the pulse point of approving projects and numerous fund allocations.
One can also imagine that current Finance Minister I and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak is in a precarious situation now about whether or not to retain Nor in the EPU or take some credible steps to clean any mess that could possibly surface arising from the arrest of the political secretary.
Pledge to wipe out graft
Abdullah, in his time, had said he wanted to wipe out corruption from among Malaysians and went on to give more ‘teeth’ to anti-corruption officers by setting up the MACC. This also paved the way for Najib to continue with the job – which has already borne some fruits and, along the way, some controversies.
While most Malaysians want to see the MACC doing its job without fear, favour and prejudice, there had been question marks about its mode of investigations and Najib has ordered a royal commission of inquiry into the matter following the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock.
By now, most people already know that Teoh had been questioned by MACC officers before he was found dead on July 16 at the fifth floor of a Shah Alam building, The Plaza Masalam building which houses the Selangor’s MACC’s office on the 14th floor.
In the Teluk Air Tawar case, it is learnt that the MACC officers had grilled the suspect, together with two service staff, for five hours into how the RM2million had been accumulated and kept at the apartment.
If the probe provides strong evidence that there is ‘hanky panky ‘ within the PM’s Department and Najib shows his courage to throw the book at the culprits – no matter what their positions are – it would surely boost his image as being a prime minister earnestly intent to wipe out all shades of graft in his administration.
The tiger has struck
In the decades of being an independent nation, there had been consistent calls by the rakyat for corrupt leaders – political, corporate and others – to be weeded out so that integrity remains intact among Malaysians.
Ironically, the political secretary’s case had come at the start of the Year of the Tiger. The beast has struck and continues to prowl. How many victims will it maul and prey upon?
The “Lost Decade Of Corruption” Where RM 1,077 Billion Of Illicit Money Had Been Illegally Siphoned Out Of Our Country From 2000-2009.The former prime minister’s statements were supported by Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop who was one of Tun Mahathir’s financial advisors at the time of the crisis. Tan Sri Nor recalled the advise provided by the World Bank representative who was summoned by the former prime minister.
According to Nor Mohamed, the World Bank had advocated for an increase in the housing loan interest rates, a restriction on the government’s spending, and a withdrawal of all loans by Bank Negara to avoid economic crisis.
The recommendations were rejected by Tun Mahathir as the consequences would cause ‘bloodshed on the streets’. The former prime minister had subsequently requested for the World Bank representative to leave his office.
By Lim Guan Eng
Malaysians mourn the “the lost decade of corruption”, where RM 1,077 billon of illicit money had been illegally siphoned out of our country from 2000-9. According to the Washington-based financial watchdog Global Financial Integrity (GFI), in 2009 alone RM 150 billion (US$47 billion) in illicit money was illegally siphoned out of Malaysia.
This RM 150 billion amount is in addition to the staggering loss of RM927 billion (US$291 billion) over a period of nine years between 2000 and 2008. The GFI report has shocked us all, with results showing that Malaysia is now ranked one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of highest illicit capital flight.
The latest GFI report, ‘Illicit Financial Flows from Developing Countries Over the Decade Ending 2009′, is penned by economists Sarah Freitas and Dev Kar, who is a former senior economist at the International Monetary Fund. According to the authors, the estimates are based on balance of payments, bilateral trade and external debt data reported by member countries to the IMF and the World Bank.
They stressed that these illicit outflows are basically “unrecorded capital leakages through… illicit transfers of the proceeds of bribery, theft, kickbacks and tax evasion.” In other words, it refers to corruption money or black money that is obtained illegally and worse, not even re-circulated into our economy.
This whopping and unaccountable loss of more than RM1 trillion as a result of corruption or black money will never be recovered. The fact that RM1 trillion worth of corruption was generated and subsequently siphoned out of our country makes the last 10 years the lost decade of corruption for Malaysia.
It is time that we get rid of the robber barons in this country. It is precisely projects like the Port Klang Free Trade Zone, the RM52 billion Bumi share scandal, the RM250 million NFC “cows and condos” fiasco, the half a billion ringgit “commission” for the purchase of two Scorpene submarines, and the multitude of government-linked projects that run into massive cost overruns with zero accountability, including the RM3.7 billion over-expenditure by government departments reported in the latest Auditor-General’s report, that contribute to Malaysia now becoming the king of black money.
No wonder Malaysia performed dismally in the latest 2011 Transparency International (TI) Corruption Perception Index(CPI), dropping 4 spots to No. 60 out of 183 countries this year from No. 56 out of 178 last year. Malaysia’s 2011 CPI dropped for the third year running, slipping to 4.3 this year, leaving it in 60th place out of 183 countries compared with 37th place when Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as prime minister in 2003. TI Malaysia Deputy President Mohammad Ali even noted that Malaysia’s CPI has continued to decline as “elements of state” that facilitated ‘grand corruption’ were still prevalent.
The latest expose by GFI of RM 1,077 billion in black of corruption money illegally taken out of the countrys explain the extent of losses suffered by Malaysians. DAP regrets that the BN government has dismissed this reputable study carried out by an independent and prestigious body. Malaysians must unite to save this country from BN, clean up corruption and try to get back this RM 1,077 brillion of illicit money.
LIM GUAN ENG
