MACC’s Silence on A-G Gani Patail is Deafening

MACC’s Silence on A-G GANI PATAIL: Remember Your Pledge, DATO’ SERI ABU KASSIM?

by Din Merican

Tan Sri A-G Gani Patail–The Untouchable

Ramadan has special significance for Muslims the world over. The Hadith says that the night of Lailatul Qadr, which appears during the last ten nights of Ramadan, is better than a thousand months. Thus most Muslims show heightened piety and many go to Makkah for Umrah in what they think is an act of cleansing during Ramadan.

Also, Muslims who go to Makkah for Haj are expected to return to a more serene blessed life. But, not so for A-G Gani Patail. His Haj Trip with Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, one Shahidan Shafie, the ex-policeman who was charged for bribery and now turned lawyer and businessman, is anything but serene and blessed. A-G Gani Patail’s Haj became a subject of controversy which has dogged him ever since. Is that an indication of God’s ire?

Self-appointed crusader against social injustice and corruption, Tan Sri Robert Phang (left), lambasted A-G Gani for inappropriate conduct in consorting with Tajuddin’s proxy at a time when public pressure is mounting why there is no action taken against Tajuddin. Because of that, Phang came under attack and was investigated by the MACC.

Something is also obviously wrong when A-G Gani disregarded the investigation report by former Director CCID, Dato’ Ramli Yusuff, who had made strong recommendations to former PM Abdullah Badawi that Tajuddin should be prosecuted.

Instead, Dato’ Ramli was stripped of his rank, suspended and charged in court. And when Dato’ Ramli was acquitted by the courts, A-G Gani Patail continued to pursue appeals against his acquittals which are still going on in an attempt to prevent Dato’ Ramli from being reinstated and getting his pensions.

As pointed out by Raja Petra Kamaruddin (RPK), the Tajuddin’s case is bizzare in that the Opposition Bloggers would say that they trust the Police while the UMNO Bloggers are calling the Police a bunch of liars: http://malaysia-today.net/mtcolumns/no-holds-barred/43092-the-mas-loss-discrepancy

Suspicions were already abound that Tajuddin Ramli was receiving preferential treatment from the MACC and A-G Chambers. Now that suspicion is confirmed when de facto Justice Minister, Dato Seri Nazri Azizi, announced that he had been mandated by the government to appoint new lawyers for the government linked companies (GLCs) and to close the cases by a Global Settlement which simply means the cases are to be withdrawn.

Thus, I wrote on August 13, 2011 about THE MAS STORY: OF PLUNDER, ABUSES AND LIES http://dinmerican.wordpress.com/2011/08/13/the-malaysia-airlines-mas-story-of-plunder-abuses-and-lies/ because I was alarmed to note that Tan Sri Wan Azmi Wan Hamzah has now entered the MAS Board of Directors.

The corporate world is fully aware of Wan Azmi’s closeness to Tajuddin Ramli. They are both Tun Daim’s boys drawn from the Peremba clique who had benefited from Tun Dr Mahathir’s bumiputera privatisation initiatives. Wan Azmi’s presence in the MAS Board is ill-timed and will continue to fuel more suspicions. This will certainly be an election issue come GE-13.

Barely has that controversy subsided, A-G Gani Patail is again embroiled in another controversy when RPK produced documents which showed that A-G Gani was being bribed by former Ho Hup Construction Bhd Deputy Executive Chairman Datuk Vincent Lye in exchange for help in a boardroom tussle involving his corporate rival, Dato‘ TC Low. Vincent Lye was ousted during an EGM in March this year and the documents of the bribery became exposed. The allegations is strengthened by a photograph of A-G Gani with Vincent Lye at Ho Hup’s office (picture below). That certainly begs the question- why was A-G Gani Patail there?

Following this recent revelation, Robert Phang has asked the MACC to show independence and not impotence when dealing with A-G Gani Patail. Phang is justified to demand swift action from the MACC especially given the absolute manner in which A-G Gani was cleared over the Haj Trip affair but Phang himself was only given a conditional clearance over an unfounded allegation. That certainly smacks of preferential treatment and selective prosecution.

The MACC’s silence on this matter is also deafening. The investigations against the Selangor opposition assemblymen involving only RM2,400 which led to the death of Teoh Beng Hock was widely sensationalised. So was the investigations against Customs officers in the much touted Ops 3B which led to the death of Ahmad Sarbaini.

The government has also been buying advertorial spaces in the main stream media to laud the MACC’s anti-corruption drive in the government’s transformation plan (GTP), yet a matter as serious as A-G Gani Patail’s bribery seems to receive the silent treatment from the MACC. What is happening here? Is this an attempt to bury an otherwise explosive story?

Dato’ TC Low left for Sydney in a huff

My friends in the corporate circles tell me that when this story broke, Dato’ TC Low left the country in a huff for Sydney, Australia. Is there something that Dato’ TC Low is afraid of? Was he fearful of retaliation from A-G Gani Patail? Why has the MACC not stepped in to give him protection? Why hasn’t the MACC interviewed the Managing Director of Ho Hup, Mr Derek Wong? Or for that matter the rest of the Ho Hup Board of Directors which includes senior lawyer Felix Dorairaj? Are all these people afraid because it involves A-G Gani Patail?

All Quiet on the MACC Front

All these information about Ho Hup is easily available on the company’s website and yet all is quiet on the MACC front. My research disclosed even more interesting facts. The Chairman of Ho Hup is former Kuala Lumpur City Mayor Tan Sri Dato Kamaruzzaman Sharif. And guess who is Ho Hup’s Deputy Chairman? Does the name Dato’ Ramli Yusuff ring a bell? I was astounded. Could it be?

Initially, I wasn’t sure if he is the same former Director of CCID. But, after checking, I am now absolutely sure that this is the same Dato’ Ramli Yusuff (left) who was stripped of his rank and was charged by A-G Gani Patail over the MAS scandal and the Goh Cheng Poh @ Tengku Goh loan shark Along case. The man who was charged by A-G Gani Patail is now the Deputy Chairman of the company that has information about A-G Gani Patail’s alleged corrupt activities. This is what you call destiny!

It seems that after the last EGM that saw Vincent Lye being booted out of Ho Hup, the minority shareholders achieved a consensus to install a new Board of Directors that would help clean up the company and take it out of its PN17 status. Thus, the minority shareholders elected Tan Sri Kamaruzzaman and Dato’ Ramli to steer the company out of its muddled past.

When this story first broke, I tried to call Dato’ Ramli to clarify all the doubts, but I was told that he was in Makkah performing the Umrah. Whatever may have been his prayers, it seems that God has answered it. Now, Dato’ Ramli, as Deputy Chairman of Ho Hup would be able to reveal all about A-G Gani Patail’s dealings. This was exactly the same position that Dato Ramli was in when he was Director CCID and discovered Tajuddin Ramli’s fraudulent activities against MAS that caused MAS multi-billion ringgit losses that MAS could never recover from until now.

Given these disclosures, is that why the MACC did not want to interview Dato’ Ramli or any of the new Ho Hup Board of directors. Because it would open up a bigger can of worms on A-G Gani Patail? Or did A-G Gani Patail already know this and therefore forbade the MACC from investigating this matter from the new Ho Hup Board? Whatever it is, it seems like providence is delivering A-G Gani Patail’s head on a platter to Dato’ Ramli.

The Abu Kassim Pledge

My point in all this is that if I can do all these simple investigations and make these discoveries, surely it is not too difficult for the MACC to dig deeper and discover more. I would remind Dato’ Seri Abu Kassim of the pledge he made at the 15th Malaysian Law Conference that he would investigate any corruption regardless whether it involves a big fish or a small fish.

Abu Kassim also pledged that if he failed to investigate those in the corridors of power, then he would resign. He was then the newly installed MACC Chief Commissioner, and earned the applause of the audience with that bold pledge.

Before writing this piece, I tried again to call Dato’ Ramli to make various verifications, but this time I was told that he has gone back to Sabah to celebrate Hari Raya with his wife’s family in Kota Kinabalu. I hope he will make a statement when he returns Kuala Lumpur after Hari Raya like the bold press statement that he made in 2007 to defend his men, which resulted in him being instantly suspended.

I am sure that Dato’ Ramli would not be tempted by the Sabah connection or any Sabah elements to cut any deal with A-G Gani Patail who would also be going back to Sabah for the Hari Raya celebration. I know everything is possible. But I also know that Dato’ Ramli is a man of integrity who had suffered much and would not compromise on his principles. He should be more fortified to do the right thing as his Umrah prayers have yielded him this enviable position of now sitting on a moral high horse over A-G Gani Patail.

On this last two days before Ramadan ends where the last nights are anticipated to be the much awaited Lailatul Qadr, I remind A-G Gani Patail to reflect on his Haj and why all these are happening to him, as if he has earned God’s wrath. I also remind Dato’ Seri Abu Kassim of his pledge to take action without fear or favour, and that he fulfils his pledge lest he becomes a victim of his own oath.