PKR: MACC chief must resign

Abu Kassim must take the blame for all happenings under his watch and step down immediately to show accountability, says Youth chief

GEORGE TOWN: Penang PKR Youth has called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to be formed to investigate the death in custody of a senior customs officer at the MACC building in Kuala Lumpur.

It also demanded that MACC chief Abu Kassim Mohamed (photo) resign immediately over the death of Selangor Customs assistant director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed.

Ahmad Sarbani, 56, was found dead on the badminton court on the first floor of the building adjacent to the MACC office in Jalan Cochrane on Wednesday.

Youth Wing chief Amir Ghazali said it was imperative that the government form the RCI to get to the bottom of the mysterious death of Ahmad Sarbani.

He stressed that the RCI was needed to evaluate the level of professionalism and work ethics of MACC officers following high-profile deaths in custody in MACC buildings.

He was referring to 33-year-old Teoh Beng Hock, the political aide to Selangor exco and Serdang state assemblyman Ean Yong Hian Wah, who was found dead from a fall in 2009 after an overnight questioning at the Selangor MACC headquarters.

He said the two deaths in MACC custody have undermined the government’s 1Malaysia concept based on “People First, Performance Now” theme.

“Surely, the deaths of Teoh and Ahmad Sarbani is against the much-lauded ‘People First’ agenda. We can’t afford another death in custody to address the shortcomings of MACC.

“The public does not want a repeat of such incidents,” Amir told reporters after handing over a memorandum to MACC state office in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here today.

He led a 15-member team, including Youth ing secretary Syed Mikeal Rizal Aidid, to hand over the memorandum to a MACC investigating officer Zahari Zainon.

Among others, the memorandum called for Abu Kassim to quit his position and take full responsibility for the death of Ahmad Sarbani.

Amir said that as the head of the anti-graft body, Abu Kassim must assume responsibility for all happenings under his jurisdiction.

“Abu Kassim must step down immediately to fulfil the convention of professional accountability,” Amir said.

The memorandum also demanded MACC to upgrade its standard of security arrangement in all its premises across the country to avoid another untoward incident.

Amir said the MACC has a responsibility to initiate proactive steps to repair its tarnished image and restore public confidence. - FMT