Why is Umno silent on Azam Baki if it is fighting for reforms, asks Kit Siang

 

Lim Kit Siang said Malaysia was in danger of becoming the ‘Venezuela of Asean’ due to its inability to fight corruption.

PETALING JAYA: DAP’s Lim Kit Siang wants to know why Umno, which claims to be championing reforms, is silent on top graft buster Azam Baki’s share ownership issue.

Lim referred to Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin’s remarks that the Barisan Nasional party was now reform-driven and that reforms “are no longer the domain of opposition parties alone”.

In a statement today, Lim also asked why Umno leaders had nothing to say about the country’s drop in the Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index for the past two years.

“What is the position of the Umno ‘court cluster’ and ‘ministers cluster’ on Azam? How can it be fighting for reforms when it is so silent on ‘Azam-gate’?”

Khaled, who is a former Johor menteri besar, said the reform agenda was no longer a battle cry for the opposition as Umno had become a party pushing for progressive ideas.

Lim also questioned Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi’s comment that it would be better for the party to go it alone than to be with Perikatan Nasional because the coalition lacked political integrity.

“What do the Umno, Bersatu and PAS leaders mean by ‘political integrity’?

“Let Umno leaders elaborate on their reform agenda on corruption before Indonesia and China overtake Malaysia in TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index by 2025 and Malaysia rushes head-on to become the Venezuela of Asean,” he said. - FMT