The shameful whitewashing of A-G Patail’s shenanigans

by Din MericanI consider yesterday,January 5, 2011, as a day of shame and deceit because in just one day we, Malaysians, witnessed 3 big cover ups or whitewashes:

• When the MACC Corruption Prevention Panel Chairman, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam, declared that AG Gani Patail has been cleared of his relationship with former MAS Chairman, Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, Shahidan Shafie. There was no investigation and yet AG Gani was cleared. This was a bad cover-up.

• When Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim, former KL CID Chief, has again accused AG Gani Patail and former IGP Musa Hassan of fabrication of DNA evidence against Anwar Ibrahim in Sodomy I. Mat Zain appealed to the Solicitor-General Datuk Idrus Harun to end this old cover-up;

• When the Teoh Beng Hock Coroner’s Inquiry returned an open verdict which means the coroner cannot ascertain how Teoh died. If it was not suicide, then it must be homicide. Yet there was no courage to say that openly. This was a lame cover up.

It is shameful that all these cover ups involved the AG’s office and the two principal law enforcement agencies of the country, the PDRM and the MACC. The public perceive that there are many more cover ups. The public perceive there is no more check and balance. The public perceive there is only collusion by the people and agencies entrusted to preserve law and order. This is shameful.

Robert Phang: The Lone Voice in MACC (?)

That is why Tan Sri Robert Phang took umbrage at Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam’s announcement and resented that the MACC Advisory Panels were being manipulated to be mere rubber stamps to protect and preserve AG Gani Patail’s position. Is Robert Phang the lone voice amongst the 30 Board and Panel members of the MACC who attended an MACC confidential meeting? More of them should make their stand. After all, they were selected based on their eminence in society.

Phang is critical of AG Gani Patail. To Phang, a senior public officer like the A-G, who is the country’s Top Lawyer, must be free from any form of suspicion of improper conduct. To Phang, AG Gani Patail’s conduct is far from satisfactory and Phang would not have the MACC being manipulated to be a fait accompli to AG Gani Patail’s wrongdoings.

Eusoff Chin and V.K.Lingam holidaying in New Zealand. It was not just Lingam putting his hand over Eusoff's shoulder, but also Eusuff putting his hand over Lingam's shoulder.

There is a saying that when a fish rots, it always starts at the head. That was the cause of the public furore over the holiday photographs of Chief Justice Mohd Eusoff Chin with lawyer Datuk V.K. Lingam which resulted in a Royal Commission of Inquiry. Unfortunately, despite some damning findings, nothing has happened after that. Another cover-up!

PKFZ and Sime Darby Scandals

It was public pressure that saw some big names being charged in the PKFZ Scandal. The same scene is now unfolding in the Sime Darby Scandal where several senior and top executives are being sued and charged for abuse of powers and corruption.

MAS Scandal

But the public did not see that happening in the MAS Scandal. Why is that so? Why the big cover-up in MAS? Instead, the public saw a most frightening scene where the key persons investigating the MAS Scandal were brought down in a most brutal fashion.

The Director of Commercial Crimes, Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, was stripped of his Commissioner of Police rank, and then tried in the media on false accusations of being “The RM27 Million Cop”. In the end, the charge against Dato’ Ramli was nowhere near the much publicized RM 27 million but for some small change and for using an aircraft while on official duty in full uniform.

The public saw another frightening scene when a senior lawyer of a premier firm, Rosli Dahlan, was brutalized, publicly paraded in handcuffs and charged for defending Dato’ Ramli. Both the trials of Dato’ Ramli and En Rosli have disclosed some very disturbing and repulsive conducts of the officers of the AG’s Chambers and the MACC in fixing up a bad case.

Both were acquitted without their defence being called and with some damning statements being made by the Judges against the MACC witnesses. Despite the court findings that there were no crimes committed, AG Gani Patail immediately appealed? Why? Was that to serve some ulterior evil motives?

As a matter of priority, wouldn’t tax payer’s money be better spent to detect and apprehend the real crooks in the MAS Scandal? Why did the MACC and AG Gani Patail spend valuable time, resources and funding to so vociferously go after a Police Director and a lawyer who were unraveling the wrongdoings in MAS? Was that because Dato’ Ramli Yusuff and the CCID under him had recommended that Tajudin should be charged for various offences. This is one big screw up where the good guys got canned and crooks go scot free.

All in the Family

In the report lodged with the MACC by Shahari Sulaiman, the Managing Director of MASKargo, Shahari stated that the main front-man for Tajuddin is Shahidan Shafie who is the first cousin cum adopted brother of Rizana Daud. Tajuddin had appointed Rizana as the Company-Secretary of MAS in order to cover up all his tracks.

Tajuddin trusted Rizana because she is married to his brother, Bistamam Ramli. She is Tajuddin’s sister-in-law and by extension, that makes Shahidan as Tajuddin’s in-law (the Malay word is ipar-duai). Tajuddin’s web of deceit in camouflaging his interest in the companies that fleeced MAS have already been unraveled in the chart provided by Shahari to the MACC which surfaced sometime ago. The links and connection are so clear as follows:

That Shahidan is Tajuddin’s proxy is also clear because Shahidan has been named in various court documents filed by Tajuddin’s lawyers where Tajuddin is trying to do another deal with the Government. Tajudin is blackmailing the Government to settle or he will open a bigger can of worms. Tajuddin’s lawyers specifically mentioned Shahidan’s name as the new shareholder of Naluri Berhad which Tajuddin’s former corporate vehicle.

This is just another cover up disguised as a court sanctioned “ Global Settlement”. The following is page 2 of Tajuddin’s lawyer’s letter which had already surfaced earlier. And yet the MACC did nothing.That A-G Gani is compromised in the decision not to institute prosecution against Tajuddin and company in the MAS Scandal is not mere suspicion. The above link can’t be any clearer even if it is in Braille to be read by a blind man. Or is MACC feigning ignorance because it is curtailed by A-G Gani Patail?

Then, on November 24, 2010, Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK)’s blog, Malaysia-Today, disclosed that A-G Gani Patail and Shahidan Shafie, who is Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, were doing the Haj pilgrimage together in Mecca.

RPK produced Tabung Haji’s documents which showed that A-G Gani Patail and his family and Shahidan have the same booking reference, the same Haj package, the same travel itinerary, the same listing. AG Gani’s son who is also a government lawyer even twin-shared a room with Shahidan like part of the same family! Is that a mere coincidence?

Just look at the Tabung Haji document(left). Now how did A-G Gani Patail explain this to the satisfaction of the MACC Board and Panels?

Despite all this information, there has been total inaction on the part of the MACC. Had it been anyone else, the MACC would have swooped in to seize documents from Tabung Haji and recorded statements from all connected people.

Selection Persecution

Had it been anyone else that senior, the MACC would have leaked that news to the press and there would have been a public lynching as what had happened to Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, Dato’ Mirza Thaiyab (former DG Tourism), Dato’ Wahid Don (former DG Immigration) and many others. In this case, there was total silence and total inaction. Was it because it involved A-G Gani Patail?

Then on January 5, Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam declared that the MACC Board members and Panel Advisers had cleared AG Gani Patail without an investigation. This violates section 7 (b) of the MACC Act, which requires the MACC to detect and investigate:

i) any suspected offence under this Act.
ii) any suspected attempt to commit any offence under this Act.
iii) any suspected conspiracy to commit any offence under this Act.

Something is really rotten here. Why the haste to clear A-G Gani Patail? That confidential meeting was clearly an orchestrated event. Ramon Navaratnam then immediately leaked to the mainstream media and even appeared on TV in the comforts of his office to clear AG Gani Patail. The public would not have known what had actually transpired until an infuriated Tan Sri Robert Phang issued a press statement refuting Ramon Navaratnam’s version of that confidential meeting.

It seems that Robert Phang is the only voice of conscience left in the MACC. In light of all these hanky panky, Abu Kassim must not be seen as failing to live up to his promise to investigate the big fishes. Otherwise, he should just resign as he had pledged at the 15th Malaysian Law Conference in 2010.

A-G Gani Patail is very powerful [Article 145(3) of the Malaysian Constitution]

All this is happening because there are no checks and balances. Everyone is afraid of A-G Gani Patail because he has become very powerful. He thinks no one can touch him because as the Attorney General of Malaysia, he is vested with absolute discretion under Art. 145(3) of the Federal Constitution over all matters relating to the prosecution of an offence. So he alone decides. So he will not allow himself to be investigated what more to be charged. That is what power does to a person. As said by Lord Acton- “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely“.

After the three big cover ups all disclosed in one day, MACC suffers from a serious credibility issue. How can MACC insist it has any integrity left if it continues with this shameful whitewashing of A-G Gani Patail’s shenanigans?