Tell the whole truth Jasbir, why did Najib & Baginda push you out from Scorpene deal

SUARAM views with interest the weekend revelations of Jasbir Singh Chahl, on the SCORPENE Submarine procurement, and welcomes his sudden willingness to speak about the controversial deal, of which he was a key negotiator.

We urge him to come clean on the full details of the procurement, which has now dragged on to be one of the largest corruption scandals of the country.

SUARAM had to await confirmation from our lawyers in France, before addressing the media.

JASBIR as Witness to the French Courts

1.  Firstly, we confirm via our Lawyers in France (William Bourdon and Apoline Cagnat)  that Jasbir Singh Chahl is a witness to the ongoing criminal inquiry, and that the investigations are still ongoing.  This verification coincides with his own admissions in the NST article that he has been in close contact and has been cooperating with the French investigators.  His statement to the NST vindicates further that the SUARAM initiated inquiry at the Tribunal de Grande Instance is making sound progress and is gaining traction.

2.  We remind the press that this is the same man who just last year came out with strong denials that he was involved in the scandal ridden procurement, following SUARAM’s expose that he would be among the key witnesses to be called before the French tribunal to testify.

3.  Whatever his motivation to come out of his silence after more than a decade, Malaysians will never know.  He has done well by opening a can of worms with his NST interview, and by doing so provoking further interest into the corruption allegations, where after more than a decade, many answers are still left wanting.

Why was JASBIR OUSTED of the DEAL?

4. SUARAM urges Jasbir to take the next step and go all the way to reveal the full details of the procurement, his role in closing the deal, why he was ousted from the negotiations, why did then Defence Minister Najib  see it fit to intervene and push his long time friend Razak Baginda into the foray to lead the negotiations instead?

JASBIR’s RM50 million suit against BAGINDA

5. It is no secret really that Jasbir had a major fallout with Razak Baginda, as described in the contents of an article published in the Far Eastern Economic review (FEER) back in 2002. A RM 50 million suit was filed by Jasbir , but he eventually settled for an out of court of settlement, according to French investigating papers. SUARAM wonders why none of these details were articulated in the NST article.

JASBIR and TERASASI?

6. What about Jasbir’s role in Terasasi Sdn Bhd, and why this mysterious company was never made public? If not for the French investigations, Malaysians would still be in the dark over this. Jasbir is compelled  to tell us the exact amounts of money that Terasasi received from French shipbuilders, and what exactly led to its dissolution of the company here  and why the subsequent formation in Hong Kong.

ALTANTUYA SHAARIBUU

7. On the subject of Altantuya Shaaribu, SUARAM reiterates that we had never described her as a translator. In fact SUARAM has asked repeatedly what was her real role in the submarine deal? It comes as no surprise to read Jasbir’s admission that he had never met her, as he was pushed out of the deal midway.

The question that begs to be answered is who is Altantuya , what was her role in the procurement of the submarines if any, and why was she so brutally killed. The French inquiry despite its emphasis on the corruption crimes and kickbacks, have agreed to probe the circumstances around Altantuya’s death and whatever connections she could have had with the submarine deal.

PERIMEKAR and the EURO 114.9 million euro

8. Finally, we read with deep interest Jasbir’s lame attempt at vaguely doing a breakdown at how the Euro 114.9 million Euros was derived and paid to Perimekar.

We note that Perimekar ‘s annual statements have shown a tumble since its inception. Between 2009 and 2010, while the submarines were being delivered, Perimekar’s activity has slid down: the company has seen its net income decrease from a profit of RM19 million to a loss amounting to RM3.3 million.

The financial report of 2010 stated: “The company’s project with the government of Malaysia was completed on Dec 25, 2009, after which a downsizing exercise was done in a fair manner and the company was focusing on prospecting for other viable business opportunities.”

Was Perimekar set up just to receive the kickbacks from the Submarine Deal?

Why was Jasbir silent on all of these?

OUR DEMANDS

It is clear from Jasbir’s interview that the French inquiry is making headway.  Many attempts have been made to discredit SUARAM and our lawyers in France, but today we are more than glad to confirm that the French investigators are digging deeper to uncover the truth, and Jasbir has admitted  that he has been in constant communications in this criminal inquiry.

SUARAM demands that the full and whole truth be made known, and for Jasbir to answer the above questions, as his interview in the NST has far from cleared the doubts around the corruption commission and kickbacks. This man as the original negotiator has all the information, and must act  with full responsibility to come clean on what actually happened.

Jasbir and all other witnesses listed cooperate with the French inquiry to bring the truth behind this controversy once and for all.

For MACC to drop its long and pregnant silence over this case, and open its investigation books. Its really time to nab big fish corruption.

SUARAM Secretariat