It is utterly preposterous for the MACC chief Azam Baki to dismiss allegations of wrongdoing on the part of the Selangor government to award the transport-related project to Asia Mobility Technologies (Asia Mobiliti).
This is because the firm’s CEO Ramachandran Muniandy is the husband of Youth and Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh.
How can the chief of the anti-graft agency dismiss allegations of cronyism or favouritism without even a preliminary investigation?
Sure enough, it was the Selangor government and related federal agencies that awarded the project to Asia Mobiliti and one other company.
Yeoh was not in the department or the ministry that awarded the project to the company helmed by her husband.
Given this, Azam came to the conclusion from reading the media publications that Yeoh, her husband and the awarding agency did no wrong.
This is the first time I have heard that the MACC depends on the media to decide whether to investigate a case or not.
A hefty amount taxpayers' money running into millions is spent to remunerate those on MACC’s payroll. This does not include the purchase of modern technology to assist the investigation process.
With all these facilities, Azam has the temerity to publicly announce that there is no case against Yeoh, her husband Ramachandran, the awarding agency, the state government and some federal agencies. In other words, there was no power abuse at all.
Probe should have been launched
The MACC, regardless of what was published in the media, could have initiated its own investigation process.
It could have enquired why the Selangor government and the related federal transport agencies awarded the project based on direct negotiations with the two companies rather than opting for the preferential transparent model of an open tender system.
Prima facie there is a basis for the MACC to investigate the manner and nature the project was awarded.
Surely, the Selangor government or the selection committee would have known about the individuals involved in the two companies and what was the link between the CEO of Asia Mobiliti and Yeoh.
I am not saying anything about the competency of the company, the individuals involved and whether they had the necessary expertise. I am also not saying that Yeoh had an invisible hand in the awarding of the project to the company that was helmed by her husband.
Even if Yeoh has no role in the awarding of the project to her husband’s company, public perception of wrongdoing is something that will linger for some time. It would be difficult to dispel suspicions and doubts without a proper investigative preferably by the MACC.
This is why the MACC cannot dismiss the allegations of wrongdoings on the part of the company before a preliminary investigation has been conducted. Definitively not the dismissal of the case on the grounds of media reports.
Why bother with Azam?
The MACC remains the central anti-graft agency in the country. Earlier, there had been allegations against Azam for dabbling in the purchase of shares.
After the present government came to power, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim decided to retain him as the MACC chief and his tenure had been extended recently. The MACC has also been accused of selective prosecution by the opposition.
I am not sure why Anwar keeps Azam as the MACC chief. His dismissal of the case against Asia Mobiliti is unacceptable without even a preliminary investigation.
Anwar should rethink continuing with the services of Azam as the MACC chief. - Mkini
P RAMASAMY is former Penang deputy chief minister.
The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.
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