Saturday, May 30, 2009

PKFZ Report: Time to book the violators

The PKFZ report is out but Malaysians want to see those responsible for violating governmental procedures and guidelines with possible conflicts of interest to be answerable. In other words, the report should not just gather dust. It should not be released merely to calm the public. Real follow-up actions must be taken by the MACC, which has claimed that it has completed its initial investigations.


The public has the right to know because the costs to incurred are very big, ballooning to an estimated RM7.453bil mainly due to interest charges. It could even go as high as RM12.5bil should PKA default on its loan repayments in the years ahead.

If that's the case, the MACC should not waste too much time in hauling up those who need to answer for the role they played in this fiasco.

One is reminded of the RM2.5bil BMF scandal in 1983, where powerful individuals were channelling the money from the bank into their private accounts. One auditor sent to investigate the case was murdered in Hong Kong.


Powerful figures would surely be involved in the PKFZ report but the MACC needs to show that there is no such thing as the untouchables. The PKFZ would mean nothing if there is no action. There is always a price to be paid in the pursuit of tranparency and accountability. The leadership has taken the first step by releasing the report, now it must complete the journey. There would be threats of legal suits but so what? The bottom line is simple - the guilty parties must be prosecuted.


There could be costly political implications but in the long run, this new level of transparency would be good for the country. The people has cried out loudly for real reforms. The talk about fighting corruption and abuses means nothing if there is selective prosecution. This is what "People First, Performance Now" should be about.

6 comments:

Odette said...

Well said.

Anonymous said...

MACC had cleared many tainted high profile names in corruption cases but the public was kept in the dark why those people could not be charged. Isn't it time MACC allow the public to judge the reasons why a tainted person could not be charged by publishing its findings,rather than just issuing a one-liner NO CASE.

Peter @ Enviroman said...

So easily sing praises? No mention of the restrictive conditions imposed on the report?

Anonymous said...

[MACC had cleared many tainted high profile names in corruption cases but the public was kept in the dark why those people could not be charged. Isn't it time MACC allow the public to judge the reasons why a tainted person could not be charged by publishing its findings,rather than just issuing a one-liner NO CASE.]

Can't agree more with the above comment. Frankly, I cannot help but be a cynic seeing the way that Lingamgate has turned out as well as numerous incidences of perceived selective MACC action.

If the govt does indeed go after the big fish involved in this case (for a start), then it may revived whatever faint belief our rakyat has in our country's future. As it is, count me as firmly sceptic!

Anonymous said...

MACC has tainted reputation of clearing the powerful. It has not demonstrated its independence or its integrity.

I would suggest that a royal commission be appointed to investigate this scandalous affair.

Anonymous said...

I believe MACC will clear this matter too, and will say...ALL CLEARED.
Frankly I dont believe MACC will go after them.
As MACC is also quilty...despite earlier reports made, no action was taken.

MACC is just TALK ONLY..NO ACTION, but whenever a report is made against the opposition parties, the next minute they will start...did u see how they started the investigation when this lady Aminah made a report, which does not even hold any substance?