MACC’s Silence on A-G Gani Patail is Deafening
DIN MERICAN
Ramadan has special significance for Muslims the world over. The Hadith says that the night of Lailatul Qadr, which appears during the last ten nights of Ramadan, is better than a thousand months. Thus most Muslims show heightened piety and many go to Makkah for Umrah in what they think is an act of cleansing during Ramadan.
Also, Muslims who go to Makkah for Haj are expected to return to a more serene blessed life. But, not so for A-G Gani Patail. His Haj Trip with Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, one Shahidan Shafie, the ex-policeman who was charged for bribery and now turned lawyer and businessman, is anything but serene and blessed. A-G Gani Patail’s Haj became a subject of controversy which has dogged him ever since. Is that an indication of God’s ire?
Self-appointed crusader against social injustice and corruption, Tan Sri Robert Phang (left), lambasted A-G Gani for inappropriate conduct in consorting with Tajuddin’s proxy at a time when public pressure is mounting why there is no action taken against Tajuddin. Because of that, Phang came under attack and was investigated by the MACC.
Something is also obviously wrong when A-G Gani disregarded the investigation report by former Director CCID, Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, who had made strong recommendations to former PM Abdullah Badawi that Tajuddin should be prosecuted.
Instead, Dato’ Ramli was stripped of his rank, suspended and charged in court. And when Dato’ Ramli was acquitted by the courts, A-G Gani Patail continued to pursue appeals against his acquittals which are still going on in an attempt to prevent Dato’ Ramli from being reinstated and getting his pensions.
As pointed out by Raja Petra Kamarudin (RPK), the Tajuddin’s case is bizzare in that the Opposition Bloggers would say that they trust the Police while the UMNO Bloggers are calling the Police a bunch of liars: here
Suspicions were already abound that Tajuddin Ramli was receiving preferential treatment from the MACC and A-G Chambers. Now that suspicion is confirmed when de facto Justice Minister, Dato Seri Nazri Azizi, announced that he had been mandated by the government to appoint new lawyers for the government linked companies (GLCs) and to close the cases by a Global Settlement which simply means the cases are to be withdrawn.
Thus, I wrote on August 13, 2011 about THE MAS STORY: OF PLUNDER, ABUSES AND LIES here because I was alarmed to note that Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah has now entered the MAS Board of Directors.
The corporate world is fully aware of Wan Azmi’s closeness to Tajuddin Ramli. They are both Tun Daim’s boys drawn from the Peremba clique who had benefited from Tun Dr Mahathir’s bumiputera privatisation initiatives. Wan Azmi’s presence in the MAS Board is ill-timed and will continue to fuel more suspicions. This will certainly be an election issue come GE-13.
Barely has that controversy subsided, A-G Gani Patail is again embroiled in another controversy when RPK produced documents which showed that A-G Gani was being bribed by former Ho Hup Construction Bhd Deputy Executive Chairman Datuk Vincent Lye in exchange for help in a boardroom tussle involving his corporate rival, Dato‘ TC Low. Vincent Lye was ousted during an EGM in March this year and the documents of the bribery became exposed. The allegations is strengthened by a photograph of A-G Gani with Vincent Lye at Ho Hup’s office (picture below). That certainly begs the question- why was A-G Gani Patail there?
Following this recent revelation, Robert Phang has asked the MACC to show independence and not impotence when dealing with A-G Gani Patail. Phang is justified to demand swift action from the MACC especially given the absolute manner in which A-G Gani was cleared over the Haj Trip affair but Phang himself was only given a conditional clearance over an unfounded allegation. That certainly smacks of preferential treatment and selective prosecution.
The MACC’s silence on this matter is also deafening. The investigations against the Selangor opposition assemblymen involving only RM2,400 which led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock was widely sensationalised. So was the investigations against Customs officers in the much touted Ops 3B which led to the death of Ahmad Sarbaini.
The government has also been buying advertorial spaces in the main stream media to laud the MACC’s anti-corruption drive in the government’s transformation plan (GTP), yet a matter as serious as A-G Gani Patail’s bribery seems to receive the silent treatment from the MACC. What is happening here? Is this an attempt to bury an otherwise explosive story?
Dato’ TC Low left for Sydney in a huff
My friends in the corporate circles tell me that when this story broke, Dato’ TC Low left the country in a huff for Sydney, Australia. Is there something that Dato’ TC Low is afraid of? Was he fearful of retaliation from A-G Gani Patail? Why has the MACC not stepped in to give him protection? Why hasn’t the MACC interviewed the Managing Director of Ho Hup, Mr Derek Wong? Or for that matter the rest of the Ho Hup Board of Directors which includes senior lawyer Felix Dorairaj? Are all these people afraid because it involves A-G Gani Patail?
All Quiet on the MACC Front
All these information about Ho Hup is easily available on the company’s website and yet all is quiet on the MACC front. My research disclosed even more interesting facts. The Chairman of Ho Hup is former Kuala Lumpur City Mayor Tan Sri Dato Kamaruzzaman Sharif. And guess who is Ho Hup’s Deputy Chairman? Does the name Dato’ Ramli Yusuff ring a bell? I was astounded. Could it be?
