Make AG Gani Patail Explain or Make him Resign
Din Merican
On November 24, Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK)’s blog, Malaysia-Today, posted an article entitled “Taking the Good Lord for a ride” about Attorney General (A-G) Tan Sri Gani Patail and Shahidan Shafie, who is Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, doing the Haj pilgrimage together, like a family, in Makkah.
Gani Patail and Family and Shahidan Shafie in Makkah
RPK also produced Tabung Haji’s documents which showed that A-G Gani Patail and his family (his Puan Sri and son) and Shahidan have the same booking reference, the same Haj package, the same travel itinerary, the same listing – as if they are part of the same family.
I was startled at first upon reading that article. I thought that could all just be a coincidence. That RPK, as he is often accused of, was just conjecturing. That RPK was embellishing an innocent fact. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of Malaysian Muslims who go to Haj annually. After all, as Muslims, we are not supposed to be suspicious of other Muslim’s motives and intentions. We are supposed to “berniat baik dan beringat baik” (good intentions and good thoughts), especially towards the Hajis and the Hajjahs (male and female Haj pilgrims).
A human tide of pilgrims in the Mina valley carrying bags of pebbles to symbolically stone Satan on the third day of the Haj, as Muslims worldwide marked the Eid festival.
So I told myself not to be jaundiced about this revelation by RPK. I told myself to analyse the facts objectively before coming to any conclusions. So let’s be objective. What are the facts that we already know?
Two Police Reports lodged against Tajuddin Ramli by MAS
I tracked Malaysia Today’s series on The Untold MAS Story: Part 1 to 10 and discovered that this is what we should already know and that is, during Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli’s time as Executive Chairman of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), the national airlines suffered losses in excess of RM8 billion, no small money by any measure. We are aware that Dr Mohamadon Abdullah and Dato’ JJ Ong of MAS had lodged two police reports alleging various breaches and fraud by Tajudin Ramli. It is known to us that the A-G Chambers had directed the police case to be NOD (No Offence Disclosed) and the file was thus closed.
PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub claimed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) jeopardised the investigation into the RM8 billion losses suffered by MAS more than 10 years ago.
MAS initially lost Arbitration Case
We know that because of the collusion between the Police and the A-G Chambers, MAS initially lost an arbitration case in relation to MAS’s termination of a 10 years cargo handling contract with a German company called ACL GmbH (ACL) following Tajudin’s departure from MAS in 2001. ACL had insisted that MAS should perform that contract although it almost bankrupted MAS. ACL then claimed Euro 63 million (RM300 million) against MAS, although MAS claimed that the contract favoured Tajudin’s family companies. The European Arbitration Panel took a simple position. They couldn’t be bothered to help a Malaysian national company if the Malaysian authorities themselves want to cover up the case.
Dato’ Seri Idris Jala as Managing Director of MAS had sought the assistance of Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, then Director of Commercial Crimes Investigations Dept (CCID), to re-open the investigations.
We also were told that Dato’ Seri Idris Jala as Managing Director of MAS had sought the assistance of Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, then Director of Commercial Crimes Investigations Dept (CCID), to re-open the investigations. We know that Dato’ Ramli Yusuf, accompanied by Idris Jala and the MAS Board of Directors, briefed former Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi and recommended that Tajudin should be charged for various offences. And I have written before that instead of charging Tajudin Ramli, the Anti-Corruption Agency, now known as the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), charged Dato’ Ramli and Lawyer Rosli Dahlan in 2007. So the case was closed for the second time. Idris Jala was then appointed as a government Minister, yet the case remained closed. Complicated? Not yet, read on.
Tajuddin’s Deceit
We then know that MAS managed to get new information about Tajudin’s deceit through a web of companies in order to hide his ultimate ownership. So we know that the supposedly German company called ACL GmbH is actually owned by Tajudin and this fact was presented to the European Arbitration Panel. Consequently, the European Arbitration Panel awarded a small sum of Euro 5.5 million against ACL’s claim of Euro 63 million. Despite the initial finding, the Europeans do have fair sense of justice when hard evidence were presented to them, and thus awarded ACL only a paltry sum because they too did not want Tajudin to benefit from this crooked deal.
Instead of charging Tajudin Ramli, the Anti-Corruption Agency, now known as the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC), charged Dato’ Ramli and Lawyer Rosli Dahlan in 2007.
But what happens when the same evidence are presented to our local authorities? They charge the innocent and cover up for the crook. That is what happens here in Malaysia – Bolehland, where everything is possible. So you have Dato’ Ramli Yusuff and Lawyer Rosli Dahlan being charged but Tajudin Ramli remain a free wealthy rich man until today.
It’s all a Family Affair
The Managing Director of MASKargo, Shahari Sulaiman, lodged a report with the MACC in 2009. From that report, we know that the main front-man for Tajudin is Shahidan Shafie who is the cousin and adopted brother of Rizana Daud. Tajudin appointed Rizana as the Company- Secretary of MAS in order to cover up all his tracks. Tajudin trusted Rizana because she is married to his brother, Bistamam Ramli. So, all this camouflaging is done in the family. A real web of deceit!
