PM’s office gave Umno-BN protection and immunity from prosecution
So, Shukri, since the 1980s the ACA has never done its job. The ACA only investigates but when it comes to politicians and government leaders the Prime Minister decides who gets arrested and prosecuted. And it is the Attorney-General and not the ACA (or MACC) who decides whether to prosecute or not.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
MACC chief ashamed he is Malaysian
(TMI) – MACC chief commissioner Mohd Shukri Abdull recounted today that he felt so embarrassed about Malaysia’s corruption levels when on a trip abroad in 2016 that he pretended to be an Indonesian national. “When someone asked me in English where I was from, I was ashamed to say I was from Malaysia, so I said I was an Indonesian. That was our state of (corruption) at that time,” he said. (READ MORE HERE)
It is quite odd that Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Commission boss would rather be seen as an Indonesian rather than a Malaysian when Indonesia is far higher up the corruption perception index compared to Malaysia (96 versus 62, where 1 is the best).
Anyway, maybe Shukri will be even more ashamed that he is Malaysian when I tell him this story that happened 32 years ago (and maybe he can hold a press conference and cry in front of the reporters again).
This incident happened back in 1986. The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) or Badan Pencegah Rasuah (BPR) — before it was called MACC or SPRM — boss in Terengganu was a chap named Zainal (he drove an old ‘Beetle’). The Terengganu Menteri Besar was Wan Mokhtar Wan Ahmad while the Prime Minister, of course, was Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Abu Talib, Mahathir’s Attorney-General, blocked many prosecutions involving Umno-BN leaders
Zainal had built up corruption cases against MB Wan Mokhtar and almost every Umno leader and EXCO Member. Even the solitary MCA leader in the government was not spared. All Zainal needed was for the Attorney-General, Abu Talib Othman, to agree to prosecute these people, the solitary MCA leader included, and the entire Barisan Nasional leadership in Terengganu would be behind bars.
However, the rule was, any prosecution involving government leaders need to first get the approval of the Prime Minister. Unless the Prime Minister consents, no government leader may be arrested and charged for any crime. So, the Attorney-General rejected the ACA’s request to arrest and charge all these Barisan Nasional Terengganu leaders.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), at the behest of the Terengganu MB, then asked the ACA to get rid of Zainal. Zainal was then transferred out of Terengganu and brought back to the HQ within 24 hours and given a ‘desk job’.
MB Wan Mokhtar and the entire Umno-BN state government had immunity from prosecution and the protection of the PMO
In August that year, Malaysia’s seventh general election was held. Zainal took no-pay-leave or sabbatical leave and went back to Terengganu to campaign against Umno and Barisan Nasional. It was quite amusing to see the former ACA Terengganu boss drive all over town in his old Volkswagen covered with PAS flags.
Unfortunately, that was the year (GE7) when PAS got wiped out and they won only one parliament seat. BN won 148 seats, 83 of them Umno, and they also retained Kelantan and Terengganu.
So, Shukri, since the 1980s the ACA has never done its job. The ACA only investigates but when it comes to politicians and government leaders the Prime Minister decides who gets arrested and prosecuted. And it is the Attorney-General and not the ACA (or MACC) who decides whether to prosecute or not.
So, is Shukri still ashamed he is Malaysian? He should be! The ACA/MACC has always been the tool for those who walk in the corridors of power to get rid of their political enemies. The ACA/MACC does not investigate corruption. It investigates enemies of the party in power. And who was the Prime Minister back then in 1986? So, is Shukri also ashamed of that as well?
