YOURSAY | Waiting for 'happy ending' in never-ending Khairuddin probe

 

YOURSAY | 'All we have now are cover-ups, lies, delays and collusion.'

Khairuddin probe: AGC seeks more details

Vijay47: Most of the criticism from the public is on why a certain straightforward case like non-compliance with Covid-19 SOP (standard operating procedure) requirements should take this unbelievable length of time, made worse only by the police seemingly playing the same record over and over again - we keep being repeatedly assured that the offence is indeed undergoing thorough investigation.

On a more basic level, assuming that the police are not competent enough to carry out proper examination the first time around, how many times must they be instructed by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, or alternatively, is it the AGC itself that keeps issuing new points to pursue?

But in reality, the plot has long lost any relationship to the original failure by Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Khairuddin Aman Razali to follow quarantine rules; the issue has now assumed far more serious proportions involving not just PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) and Health Ministry, but with perhaps the entire government machinery now infected.

Every facet of the case is a horror story on its own and the authorities seemed to have learned a big lesson from the bigger screw-up in respect of the much later claim that “the compound was paid on Aug 7”.

Countless points need to be verified, a task that I am sure former minister Teresa Kok would be more than glad to offer assistance. These would include the following:

1. With Covid raging in full bloom, who gave the Khairuddin delegation authority to traipse to Turkey? In fact, was approval actually given or was that an afterthought?

2. Even if approval had been granted, what was so pressing that he and the others were compelled to make the visit during these difficult times when the entire country was urged to adopt stay-at-home safety precautions?

3. Was it an official or private excursion? If official, what was his family doing tagging along, and if private, why the officials? If both, is that now the usual practice?

4. Who paid for the family expenses? What class did they travel in and what star hotel did they stay in? Was everyone entitled to this?

5. What was the actual programme during their visit, who were the Turkish officials they met? What were the issues discussed and the outcome?

6. Apart from Turkey, did the delegation visit any other country? Were such legs of the trip also approved? No doubt, Kok can easily confirm this by a quick scrutiny of the respective passports.

7. Did Khairuddin actually succeed in attracting Turkish investment in Malaysia of RM82 billion as stated by Baling MP Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim? Is there documentary evidence of this, or at least an MOU (memorandum of understanding)? Remember, kindly Arabs do not come from Turkey.

8. If there were no such investments, would Azeez be now referred to the Privileges Committee for allegedly lying in Parliament?

9. On what date was the compound fee, whatever the amount, paid? If on Aug 7, why was it stated even weeks later by the minister that this matter was yet to be finalised?

It can be seen that so many countless points need to gel - outward flight manifests, hotel registration, and inward flight details, all need to smoothly dovetail. Even the payment of the compound fee must reconcile with receipt numbers, computer records and the amounts banked in.

All in all, not a very comfortable thing to look forward to. And it still needs to pass muster with Kok.

I should also mention that the undue delay in finalising the investigation is not because the above nine questions have to be resolved. Far from it.

The real reason is that suitable answers have to be concocted so that the entire episode can be given a coat of pristine white, lest the house of cards collapses.

Like I said above, no more "the compound fee was paid on Aug 7".

Newday: We already know the AGC returned the investigation papers some days ago with the pathetic reason being to get more witness statements. When will this charade end?

The entire nation has been a witness to the law-breaking antics and cover-ups by the minister. We have also witnessed the apparent collusion between government officials and the minister with the dodgy RM1,000 compound.

The nation still does not know the quarantine busting status of the rest of the minister’s party. This has been kept very quiet. All we have now are cover-ups, lies, delays and collusion.

Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is so vocal on good governance and rule of law, is silence on this. You are the boss? Or are you, really?

Fortis Est Veritas: The AGC and the PDRM are like Dickens Circumlocution Office. They need an eternity to do something so embarrassingly straightforward.

Or are they twiddling their thumbs, having nothing gainful to do? Or maybe they fake inefficiency?

Hmmmmmmmm: Are they looking for a 'happy ending, win-win situation' here, like in the Indira Gandhi case? Or waiting to see the outcome of PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim's change of government claim?

If Anwar succeeds, I will bet my bottom dollar that the investigation will suddenly be completed and this minister will be charged immediately, assuming that he is not one of the backers of Anwar.

Coward: Either the police are incompetent, or some in the police and AGC are trying to drag this out for a yet unknown reason. It's possible that this case is more complex than we think it is, but it is unlikely.

One thing for sure, we have to keep up the pressure. We want justice, however long it takes. That's not for our ego, but we have to be fair to all those who got punished for doing the same.

GrayDeer5393: I don't think anything at this point will quell the public dissatisfaction with the double standards. They might as well bite the bullet. - Mkini