Danaharta Out-of-Court Settlement: PKR Wants Full-On Probe on Tajuddin

(Malaysian Digest) – In response Danaharta and Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli out-of-court settlement, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Treasurer, William Leong, said the elements of frauds and criminal breach of fiduciary duties must be investigated fully.

Leong (pic) said, while PKR acknowledges the legal right of Danaharta and Tajuddin to settle out-of-court legal suits concerning a RM589 million debt incurred by the latter for his purchase of MAS shares, the authorities cannot ignore that there had been a series of police and Malaysian Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) reports made against the former corporate figure.

He added that Tajuddin has been accused of masterminding various fraudulent transactions that constitute a serious breach of fiduciary and statutory duties that had partly contributed to MAS’ disadvantaged financial performance ever since his tenure at the national airlines.

“In particular, two police reports dated January 4 2002 and May 4 2005 had been lodged by MAS to press for his accountability for the fraudulent transactions,” said Leong.

“It is a known fact that MAS was a pride of the nation with RM600 million cash reserve when he (Tajuddin) took over in 1994, but ended up with accumulated losses of RM8 billion when he left in 2001.

“The financial burden inherited from the accumulated losses suffered MAS’ financial performance in spite of successive business turnaround plans implemented since his departure,” he added.

Leong, who is also the Selayang MP said, partly as a result of the accumulated losses suffered, MAS had to enter the Comprehensive Collaboration Framework (CCF) with AirAsia that is deemed to be against the interest of the workers and other stakeholders in MAS.

In this context, Leong said the allegation of criminal frauds committed by Tajuddin is a serious national issue as it impacts the livelihood of tens of thousands ordinary Malaysians whose hard work went down the drain because of the mismanagement of certain corporate captains deemed close to the ruling establishment.

“The authorities including PDRM and MACC must explain to the public why there has not been any action taken on Tajuddin in spite of clear evidence adduced against him. Worse, Datuk Seri Najib’s continued silence on this issue dilutes further any notion that he is serious about combating graft in the country,” said Leong.

“On top of this, Tajuddin claim that he was a proxy in the acquisition of MAS and acted under the instruction of the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad warrants an investigation of the highest urgency,” he added.

Leong said the fact that agencies controlled by the government chose to back down and reached an out-of-court settlement shrouded in secrecy will inevitably strengthen Tajuddin’s claim that he was indeed just a proxy.

“If he was a proxy, who was then the real master who should be accountable for ruining the livelihood and economic future of tens of thousands of MAS employees?” questioned Leong.