Hamzah Zainuddin, sila jawab

 

Hamzah Zainuddin is being accused of trying to bribe private eye P. Balasubramaniam to frame Anwar Ibrahim. This is a very serious allegation and an allegation which Hamzah will need to reply to. Tomorrow, Malaysiakini will be revealing his name so Hamzah had better get ready with a response. A denial is not good enough and ‘no comment’ means you are guilty. So, Hamzah, what is your response?

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Plantation Industries and Commodities deputy minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin

(Lim Kit Siang, 12th April 2004) — The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi should suspend Felcra Bhd Chairman Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin and call in the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) until Hamzah could satisfy public queries about the integrity of the sources of his tens of millions of ringgit of assets as revealed by a RM11.2 million divorce settlement in cash and assets ordered by the Perak Syariah High Court last Thursday.

Perak Syariah High Court judge Hassan Basri Shafie had ordered Hamzah, 47, who is also the Ipoh Barat UMNO division chief, to make payment within a month RM1.2 million for mutaah (compensation for disgrace due to divorce) to his ex-wife Nooraini Abdul Rashid, 46, while the remainder would be given in movable and immovable assets acquired by the couple during their marriage (harta sepencarian).

Hassan said Nooraini was entitled to the compensation because throughout their marriage she had never disgraced him and had always protected the honour and safety of their children.  She had also been loyal and there were no reports of disobedience on her part from any syariah court.

He said the wife was also entitled to a share of the common property acquired during the marriage.

The judge ordered Hamzah to pay a monthly RM2,000 for maintenance, RM1,500 for clothes and accessories and RM1,000 for looking after the children for the 15 years that they were married, bringing the total to RM810,000.  He also awarded a total of RM396,066 to Nooraini, a former secretary, in arrears in salary for 22 years after she resigned from her job when she got married.

Hassan also declared 63,192,858 shares owned by Hamzah in three companies as common property with his ex-wife and gave him a choice to transfer a third of the shares to her or pay her RM10 million.

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(Bernama, 2nd April 2008) — The High Court fixed September 27 and 28 as trial dates for the RM10 million defamation suit filed by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim against Plantation Industries and Commodities deputy minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin.

Judicial Commissioner Rosilah Yop set the date in chambers here today.

Anwar filed the suit on Aug 22, 2008 against Hamzah, who was Housing and Local Government deputy minister at the time, alleging he uttered defamatory words which were published in an article titled “Anwar Harrassed My Wife” in the Chinese daily Kwong Wah Jit Poh dated Aug 19, 2008.

Anwar claimed that the article portrayed him as being involved in forbidden sexual activities, of having low moral standards, and as a man who had no Islamic values.

Hamzah, in his defence on Nov 13, 2008 said the words in the article were appropriate.

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PI Bala: They tried to bribe me… again

(Malaysiakini, 2nd August 2012) — Private eye P Balasubramaniam has emerged from hiding to drop yet another bombshell – that there was a second attempt to bribe him when he was in exile in India, this time to smear PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim.

Speaking to Malaysiakini in an interview in Kuala Lumpur last month, Balasubramaniam claimed that he was approached about a week before the Sarawak state election in April last year.

“You know these guys, they already got ‘good news’ from Perth and they needed more ‘good news’ from India,” said Balasubramaniam cryptically, though he declined to elaborate further.

At the time, the campaign machineries of both sides of the political divide had been in high gear as every and all possible means were being used to woo voters in the crucial state election.

It was also around this time Raja Petra Kamarudin’s interview with TV3, which was done during the controversial blogger’s visit to Australia, hit the airwaves.

In the interview which was also carried by the mainstream TV stations, Raja Petra disavowed his statutory declaration (SD) linking Prime Minister Najib Razak’s wife Rosmah Mansor to the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder case.

Raja Petra, who is in self-imposed exile in United Kingdom, alluded that his SD was based on information ‘planted’ by PKR leaders desperate to prevent Najib, who was then deputy prime minister, from succeeding Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Bala keeps lawyer in the loop 

In Balasubramaniam’s case, the private eye claimed he was asked to implicate Anwar and PKR leaders of paying him to commit perjury in his 2008 SD linking Najib with murdered Mongolian national Altantuya.

He said he was approached by the same people who had threatened and subsequently paid him a substantial amount to sign a second SD to say that his first sworn statement was made ‘under duress’ – businessman Deepak Jaikishan (right) and a police officer by the name of Suresh.

A key figure in the controversy surrounding the murder of Altantuya, Balasubramaniam fled to India with his family after signing the second SD.

Apparently promised RM5 million for his about-turn, Balasubramaniam said he received a total of RM700,000, in instalments, before the payments eventually stopped.

According to the private investigator, he was contacted by Deepak and Suresh through a mutual friend, Siva, about one week before the Sarawak election.

Siva, a businessman, had called Balasubramaiam’s wife at their home in India as the private investigator was at the time taking a former staff on a temple tour in northern India.

Balasubramaniam’s wife was told that Suresh and Deepak wanted to speak to him and she relayed the message to him.

“I told my wife I didn’t want to speak to anyone.”

After she conveyed his response to Siva, Suresh subsequently called her repeatedly on the phone.

“They were ‘torturing’ my wife like hell. My wife could not take the pressure.”

To spare his wife the harassment by Suresh, Balasubramaniam said he finally agreed to speak with Suresh and Deepak, but only after seeking advice from Americk Sidhu, his Malaysian lawyer.

Video recording was to tarnish Anwar

Americk told him to play along, and to document the events as they took place.

“Speak to them, get whatever evidence… it’s for your ‘insurance’,” Balasubramaniam said his lawyer told him.

Suresh then contacted him directly, after his wife gave his phone number to the police officer.

He said Suresh told him: “This is the deal: RM200,000 cash and a condo in Berjaya Times Square and after this, after everything is okay, I’ll let you come back, and then maybe we will give you a project.”

When Balasubramaniam asked Suresh what they wanted in return, Suresh told him that they wanted him to read out a statement they had prepared and for this to be recorded on video.

Asked what the statement was about, Balasubramaniam described it as “tarnishing PKR number one (Anwar)”.

Part of the statement that was given to Balasubramaniam states: “I had to change my second SD because I was approached by Anwar who convinced me that he will become the new prime minister very shortly.”

It also says that Anwar gave him RM200,000 “in a bag” and that RM50,000 would be banked into his account monthly.

The statement adds that both Balasubramaiam and Padang Serai MP N Gobalakrishnan would be made senators “to safeguard the rights of the Indians”, and that the private eye had finally decided to come out with the “truth” because Anwar had betrayed the Indian community.

Initially Balasubramaniam refused to record the video on his own. He asked Deepak and Suresh to fly to India together with TV3 andUtusan Malaysia journalists, and he would do as they asked.

However, after a whole day had passed and further negotiations took place – this time with Deepak himself – Balasubramaniam finally agreed to make the video recording after it was stressed upon him that they needed the footage urgently.

Suresh then banked in RM100,000 into an account in the name of Balasubramaniam’s wife. Then, through Siva, Deepak and Suresh handed over a copy of a sale-and-purchase agreement for the Berjaya Times Square condominium.

However, Balasubramaniam said he played his trump card after leading both Deepak and Suresh on.

‘Deepak’s furious call recorded’

“It (the video) was ready, already keyed in, I just (needed to) mail it. What I did was to mail it to my lawyer. When Deepak called, I told him I was sorry, I pressed the wrong button and mailed it to my lawyer instead.”

On hearing this, Deepak was livid with anger.

“He was shouting at me like hell – that recording is with my lawyer – our last telephone communication, (and) I recorded it.”

Asked if this was his intention right from the beginning, Balasubramaniam said “yes” and gave a hearty laugh.

“You know, this was the best opportunity I had. I did not come to ask (him for) money, I did an (first) SD, (and they) all came and jumped (on me) and sent my whole family (away to India).

“I lost my mother, I lost everything, what is left? I am sitting in Malaysia, my wife is sitting in India.”

According to Balasubramaniam, his mother died when he was in hiding in India. It was only later, after Najib became prime minister, that he was able to make secret trips to Malaysia.

The private eye said he transferred the RM100,000 Suresh put in his wife’s bank account to his lawyer’s client account, and asked it to be returned to Deepak, who has a carpet business and is a close friend of PM’s wife, Rosmah. The sale-and-purchase agreement of the condominium is also with his lawyer.

Balasubramaniam disclosed that he had recorded some of the conversations he had with Deepak and kept a logbook detailing everything that took place.

The evidence, he said, was being kept for his protection.