DAP urges Paul Low to step down after Putrajaya’s dismal performance in corruption poll

DAP today challenged Datuk Paul Low (pic) to resign from his position as a minister in Putrajaya following the latest Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) poll that showed only 28% of Malaysians believed that Putrajaya was effective in tackling corruption.

Party assistant national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching said the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department was appointed to ensure Putrajaya “walked the talk in tackling graft”.

“However, the latest survey by TI-M indicates that only 28% of Malaysians believe that Putrajaya has been effective in tackling corruption.

“Low's appointment does not seem to have helped to improve Malaysians’ perception on corruption," she said, adding that public confidence over Putrajaya’s ability to tackle the issue has sunk to its lowest in five years.

She said Low should emulate Hindraf chairman P. Waytha Moorthy and walk away from all his positions in Putrajaya and the Senate.

Waytha Moorthy in February quit all his positions in the government, saying Putrajaya had failed to keep its promises after winning the 13th general election.

This is not the first time Low has been attacked by DAP as party secretary-general Lim Guan Eng had also described him as a man without integrity.

Lim had said in a statement last year that Low did not support transparency after Low had dismissed Malaysia's illicit outflow of RM174 billion in 2011.

Teo also said the latest TI-M survey proved that Najib had never been sincere in combating corruption, adding that Low's appointment was just for show.

The TI-M survey showed that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's Government Transformation Plan (GTP) had been a complete failure, she added.

“In 2009, Najib set up the Performance Management and Delivery Unit (Pemandu) to oversee the implementation of the GTP.

"Pemandu was initially set up with a total cost of RM66 million, but the operations cost has since ballooned to RM250 million by last year," Teo said.

She demanded an explanation from Pemandu chief executive officer, Datuk Seri Idris Jala, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Department.

"Idris should explain to the public and the taxpayers how their money has been spent and whether Pemandu is still capable of performing."