Act fast on Alstom bribery scandal probe, TI-M tells MACC
By Debra Chong, The Malaysian Insider
Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) today urged national anti-graft officials to work with Swiss authorities and to act quickly in the latest bribery scandal to arrest Malaysia’s corruption perception slide.
In a statement today, TI-M president Datuk Paul Low raised the questionable business dealings of French engineering giant Alstom in the country and called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) “to leave no stone unturned” in investigating if there were such corrupt practices as alleged.
It noted Alstom was fined €31 million (RM 130 million) by the Swiss Attorney General for failing to implement proper controls to prevent bribery in Malaysia, Latvia and Tunisia relating to payments to middlemen to secure government contracts to build power plants.
“Given the continued slide in Malaysia’s Corruption Perception Index ranking and score as shown in the 2011 results released last week, it is crucial that all efforts are made to address any allegations of corrupt practices immediately,” Low said.
He added that the commission must be allowed to conduct their investigations without fear or favour, and said any party that breached the MACC Act must be dealt with transparently in accordance with the law.
Yesterday, scandal-hit Alstom denied it bribed an Umno veteran for a power plant project in Perlis as alleged.
The French firm also declined comment when asked to confirm if its Malaysian executives were being investigated by national anti-graft officials over its connections to Tenaga Perlis Consortium (TTPC), a local company partly controlled by Tan Sri Abdul Hamid Pawanteh.
In responding to The Malaysian Insider, Alstom maintained its stand that reported financial improprieties in its business dealings here were one of three isolated cases and were not the result of a “systematic bribery” endorsed by the company.
“As underlined in the Swiss Attorney’s conclusions, Malaysia is one of the cases where the company has been a victim of the misconduct of its employees,” Beverly Ho, Alstom Malaysia’s communications manager said in an email reply yesterday.
It stressed that the company was fined by Swiss authorities for “corporate negligence in the past, not for having organised a corruption scheme”.
Abdul Hamid, a former Perlis mentri besar and Dewan Negara president who was reported to be directly implicated in Alstom’s indictment for bribery in securing foreign contracts, also denied accepting monies.
“I wish to categorically state that the allegations contained in the above report are totally baseless and malicious,” Abdul Hamid said in a statement to The Malaysian Insider two days ago.
He stressed that the company’s board of directors, including Ti Chee Liang who was named in the Swiss court papers, did not receive “7.5 million Swiss francs (RM25.5 million) to help Alstom Malaysia secure a contract to build a power plant in Perlis in late 1995”.
The politician also disclosed that he was unaware of ongoing investigations into Alstom Malaysia by the Swiss authorities.
“To date, I have not been notified or called by them to make any statements or provide any details. I am shocked that the Swiss authorities have accused Ti and me of wrongdoings, financial or otherwise.
