When silence is far from golden

Najib and Muhyiddin must respond to recent allegations of corruption involving their subordinates and Awang Adek, says Transparency International’s Paul Low

PETALING JAYA: Transparency International Malaysia has urged Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin to respond to recent allegations of corruption implicating their aides and involving Deputy Finance Minister Awang Adek Hussin.

Paul Low, president of the graft watchdog, said Najib’s and Muhyiddin’s positions as national leaders demanded that they break their silence.

“Because it involves subordinates who are close to them, and since they are in such positions of power, they must inquire as to whether those allegations are true or not,” he said.

“They should also come out, in public, and say something. This is of public importance.”

Neither must Awang Adek ignore the allegations, Low added.

He said he had studied the documents presented by the accusing blogger, The Whistleblower711, and felt that the allegations appeared “very concrete”.

He urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to treat the matter as urgent.

He praised the anonymous blogger as “brave” and said he should be protected under the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010.

Public trust

Asked if he felt it was right for someone to make such allegations without revealing his identity, Low said the Whistleblower Act had yet to be tested and the enforcement agencies had yet to gain the public’s trust.

“He should provide all the evidence he has to MACC and I think the MACC has to give him the confidence. The right channel for him is the MACC, but we can’t blame him if he is still afraid.”

However, Centre of Policy Initiatives director Lim Teck Ghee disagreed that the blogger should be allowed his anonymity.

“What comes out is unsubstantiated,” Lim said. “It carries very little credibility as any charge or allegation must meet certain minimal standards, as laid down by the ethical norms of Internet journalism.”

He said the allegations had not met these standards. “For all we know, it could be a business competitor or a political opponent. It is important that the accuser establish himself as bona fide. Anything anonymous should be treated with more than an ounce of salt.”

He said the accuser should make use of the Whistleblower Act and report to the proper authorities instead of going public.

But he said the persons implicated, as well as the MACC, should respond.

“Regardless of whether it appears legit or not, they should not ignore it, or refuse to respond. It will place them in an unfavourable light, and it would simply sanction even more rumour mongering in the blogs.”

He suggested that Awang Adek and the two public servants give a clear denial of their guilt at a press conference.

“By their silence, they cause problems for their political bosses.”

Lim said MACC must be forthright by giving details of its investigation in the case because it was of public interest.

“I think it’s wrong of the MACC to hide under a cloak of bureaucratic secrecy. MACC must tell us what they are doing, if anything. At least in three to six months, you have to tell us your progress.”

Ramon Navaratnam, the former chairman of MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, agreed with Lim that both Najib’s and Muhyiddin’s aides, as well as Awang Adek, must answer the allegations publicly.

He also said the blogger should reveal his or her identity. “If MACC did not act on a previous report, you can go to the Panel of Complaints.”

FMT reported on Whistleblower711’s allegations on Sunday.

The director of MACC’s investigations division, Mustafar Ali, said yesterday that his office was looking into the case.