Tajudin Ramli will not be enjoying his Hari Raya this year

Tajudin and UMNO are trying to broker a deal on a global basis to settle all his cases. Why are they doing that? Well, because UMNO and Tajudin are afraid that Malaysia Today will expose more of their shenanigans. They are afraid that we will not rest until all these plunderers of the nation’s wealth are brought to justice.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

In the previous parts in this series of articles, Malaysia Today told you about how the former Chairman of Malaysia Airlines (MAS), Tajudin Ramli, plundered the national airline close to RM9 billion. When Tajudin took over MAS in 1994, MAS had more than RM600 million in cash reserves. When he left in 2001, MAS was running at a deficit in excess of RM8 billion.

Malaysia Today also revealed that Tajudin was given immunity by UMNO. This is not what Malaysia Today alleges. This was Tajudin himself declared in his Affidavit. We are just repeating what Tajudin swore in his testimony. And the punishment for the crime of signing a false Affidavit is very serious indeed. So Tajudin would surely not dare lie in a document such as an Affidavit.

Undeniably, Tajudin is still a wealthy man while those who pursued him -- ex-CCID Director Ramli Yusuff and lawyer Rosli Dahlan -- ended up in court facing trumped up charges.

Tajudin could get away with murder because Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was also plundering MAS. So the PM could certainly not endorse the prosecution of Tajudin without the risk of the shit hitting the fan. And that was why MAS’s various reports to the Police and the MACC went unheeded. And that is also why Abu Kassim’s pledge to resign if the MACC does not investigate the big cases is just a public relations spin at best, mere lip service.

But that is not all to the story. In the past weeks, Tajudin’s lawyers and agents requested to meet me in London so that they could explain the ‘true’ story behind this entire episode. Tajudin wants Malaysia Today to know his side of the story -- about how the government ‘cheated’ him.

Basically, the story that Tajudin’s people related in London recently was that he was merely the ‘government agent’ in the MAS scam. The MAS shares did not belong to him. They belonged to Umno. He was merely Umno’s ‘front man’. And that was why Umno not only has to protect him from prosecution but they also had to ensure that the government bought back the shares at the same price that they were sold to him although the shares were worth only a portion of its real value.

This appears to be the trend. This was going on not only for MAS but for the other deals as well. Read what the ex-Malay Chamber Chairman of Penang, Rahman Maidin, said about Realmild/MRCB. Read also what Halim Saad said about UEM/Renong. These are all Tajudin’s allies working in concert to now spill the beans. They were all Umno front men and nominees. And they all now have an axe to grind with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

And, more importantly, it appears like the current Prime Minister, Najib Tun Razak, is giving his tacit approval for Tajudin Ramli, Rahman Maidin and Halim Saad to sing like a canary and finger Umno, Dr Mahathir and Tun Daim Zainuddin as the real rogues behind the plundering of billions of Ringgit of taxpayers’ money.

Coming back to MAS, after the Government bought back the MAS shares from Tajudin at RM8 per share -- whereas the market price then was just RM3.80 per share -- Danaharta foreclosed on Tajudin’s shares in Naluri Bhd. Danaharta then sold Naluri to Atlan Bhd.

Now, the person who brokered the deal was Dato’ Khalid Jewa a.k.a ‘Dato’ K’. That’s how Dato’ K became so filthy rich he managed to court the singing Diva, Siti Nurhaliza, a man much older than her.

Tajudin became angry and sued Danaharta and several others for RM13.6 billion. His motive was to fire a warning shot and warn the government that he will spill the beans if they go for him. Unfortunately for Tajudin, his case was struck out.

Now see the announcement that MAS made to the Bursa Malaysia about Tajudin counter-suing MAS for RM500 million. Tajudin is repeating his threats to the government. Check out the announcement to the Bursa Malaysia here (http://www.malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/34369-malaysia-today-at-the-centre-of-the-mas-tajudin-scuffle-part-1).

Tajudin specifically mentioned the name Raja Petra Kamarudin in his counter-suit. The announcement also mentions that Tajudin failed to strike out MAS’s claims against him for RM174 million. But hey, why mention my name? What have I got to do with a money-losing GLC?

Tajudin is running amok like a bull in a china shop. He is showing both MAS and the government that he will split wide open the can of worms if the government pursues civil and criminal actions against him.

Unknown to Tajudin and his agents who met up with me in London recently, it is not just Bukit Aman, the MACC and the AG Chambers that report to me. Even the courts in Malaysia do as well. So I am being told more that what they think.

Yes, the courts in Malaysia do not report to Tun Zaki Tun Azmi, the Chief Justice. They report to me. How do you think I knew that they that were coming for me on 23 February 2009 and managed to go underground just 24 hours before they pounced? And how could I escape the police dragnet if not for the fact the some officers from Bukit Aman themselves were the ones who whisked me to safety?

So eat your heart out Musa Aman. Your own officers made sure I was safe and free so that I can continue to whack you till the day you fall. And that day has come.

The story I received from the courts is even more interesting. After selling off Naluri to Atlan (and making Dato’ K very rich), and after stripping Naluri off all its assets and business, they will now make Naluri redundant as a dormant RM2 company. This will erase all the records and stories on how Tajudin used Naluri to plunder MAS.

Tajudin and UMNO are trying to broker a deal on a 'Global Basis' to settle all his cases. Why are they doing that? Well, because UMNO and Tajudin are afraid that Malaysia Today will expose more of their shenanigans. They are afraid that we will not rest until all these plunderers of the nation’s wealth are brought to justice.

On Sunday, Musa Hassan said in his interview with Mingguan Malaysia that I am a traitor. Now let me ask him who is the traitor? If the IGP and the MACC Chief want to cover up for a corporate crook are they then not traitors? And isn’t ex-Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi also not a traitor for selling out Limbang and MAS?

Just so that Malaysia Today is not accused of making up stories, we will show you the grand scheme where Tajudin will do a ‘Global Basis’ settlement with the government and all the GLCs that have suffered losses as a result of his actions.

In the mother of all scandals in nation plundering, Tajudin is doing a deal involving the ‘Mother Suit’. Malaysia Today is not saying this, it is mentioned in a letter by Tajudin’s own lawyers.

Tajudin’s lawyers think they are smart. They are trying to camouflage this mother of all schemes by using the courts to validate their crooked actions. They reckon by implicating the courts they would be safe.

In truth, however, these lawyers are mere amateurs. They have just provided the missing link between Shahidan Shafie and Tajudin. Remember this name in the MACC report filed by Shahahri Sulaiman, Managing Director of MASKargo, which Malaysia Today exposed some weeks back?

Yes, this is the camouflage and front man that Tajudin now uses. Shahidan is the cousin of Rizana Daud, the wife of Bistamam Ramli and one time supremo Company Secretary of MAS when Tajudin plundered MAS.

Shahidan was a former police officer and once the OC Secret Societies in Johor Bahru. In 1990, he was charged for corruption when he released some gangsters for a fee. Through his ACA (MACC) contacts he escaped prison. Since then he has become a very successful wheeler-dealer.

Shahidan is very close to Zahid Hamidi and Nazri Aziz. He also cuts deals with AG Gani Patail and maintains a close friendship with Nordin Hassan, the former Director of Prosecution of the MACC.

Now look at the series of letters where a deal is being cut with the courts to postpone the cases against Tajudin so that he has time to make this mother of all deals work.

And remember, you read it from Malaysia Today first.