MACC panelist Abdul Rahman Dahlan's credibility is now under question after he openly defended Musa Aman over the RM40 million political donation
By Calvin Kabaron
KOTA BELUD: Kota Belud MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan has been reminded that he sits on a Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) panel and should not be too quick to jump and openly defend his Umno colleagues who are subject to corruption investigations.
Abdul Rahman sits on a MACC’s Special Committee on Anti-Corruption.
Last week he jumped to Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman’s defence over the RM40 million issue.
Commenting on this, Kota Belud State Reform Party (STAR) head Jalumin Bayogoh said Abdul Rahman’s defence of his party colleagues was an indication of a conflict of interest as he is supposed to help expose corruption and propose ways to strengthen approaches to stamp out graft and power abuses in the country.
“Last week he was very quick to defend the embattled Chief Minister Musa Aman, who is a subject on the still hotly-debated RM40 million issue, when he (Abdul Rahman) was never known to expose corrupt acts within the Barisan Nasional government.
“He might have compromised his position in the the special committee on graft which was established under the MACC Act. Moreover the the Swiss authorities are still investigating the Musa Aman matter,” Jalumin said.
Abdul Rahman had defended the government’s position in “clearing” Musa, saying that the RM40 million – being a political donation – was not Musa’s personal money but belonged to Sabah Umno.
He also accused the opposition of continuing to spin the issue after Malaysia’s authorities considered the case settled.
“What is the core business of Umno? It is a contribution from people for political activities. There is no law against anyone contributing money to political parties as long as they are accounted for.
“If I had RM1 billion and I like you and I gave you RM2 million, so what? As long as a receipt is given,” Abdul Rahman had said.
Abdul Rahman who is also Sabah BN secretary, challenged the opposition parties to reveal their own source of funding, saying they have not been transparent on theirs.
“Reveal your sources of income, how much have you collected from your donors. I have seen how Anwar (Ibrahim) in Permatang Pauh by-election threw money around,” he charged.
‘Chia was never arrested’
Asked about the claim by opposition parties that the RM40 million amounted to ‘foreign money’, Abdul Rahman reportedly said:” This is ridiculous, they are just having fun accusing Umno of everything.”
Last Thursday, Parliament was told that MACC had cleared Musa of graft and money-laundering allegations after finding that the over S$16 million (RM40 million) carried by businessman Michael Chia in Hong Kong in 2008 was not meant for the chief minister’s personal use but for Sabah Umno liaison body.
“It is not for the private use of the the chief minister,” Nazri said in a written reply to Batu MP Tian Chua.
The minister had also said the Attorney-General’s Chambers had shelved the matter after finding “no element of corruption” in the case.
Nazri’s reply also stated that the Hong Kong ICAC took no further action in the case after the MACC finding, while the request for cooperation in a criminal matter lodged over the Swiss bank account has been withdrawn for the same reason.
Earlier this year, Sarawak Report published documents purportedly from the ICAC that showed that a Swiss bank account in the name of a lawyer in Sabah contained some US$30 million (RM92 million) and was allegedly being held for Musa.
The report claimed that a paper trail showed that millions in euros, US dollars, Hong Kong and Singapore dollars were channeled from several firms to a number of British Virgin Island companies and subsequently to the Swiss account.
The transactions were believed to have been managed by Hong Kong-based timber trader Chia who was later arrested and charged with money laundering after attempting to smuggle S$16 million (RM40 million) back to Malaysia.
(On Aug 14, 2008, Chia, was caught red-handed at the Hong Kong International Airport with Singapore currency worth RM40 million in his luggage before be could board a flight to Kuala Lumpur)
However yesterday Nazri made yet another eye-opening remark in Parliament, claiming that Chia was never arrested by the ICAC in Hong Kong as was reported.
While Malaysia and Hong Kong are reportedly not pursuing the matter anymore from last week, the authorities in Switzerland are still investigating the case for money-laundering.
A powerful NGO, Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), is pressing for full investigations and is hoping that the famous Swiss banking secrecy would be lifted during a full investigation.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE / Artikel Asal
15 comments:
Sebelum ada bukti jangan pula tuduh sembarang, hingga kini tiada yang ada bukti kukuh pun tetapi selalu menuduh
Betul tu, Musa dilindungi oleh menteri lain disebabkan dia tidak bersalah dalam hal ni. Ini belum ada bukti jangan memfitnah.
Selaras dengan ikrar Janji Ditepati, tiada siapa boleh menafikan bahawa kerajaan Barisan Nasional (BN) telah membawa banyak perubahan dan kemajuan kepada rakyat dan negeri Sabah, kata Ketua Menteri Sabah Datuk Seri Musa Aman.Ini kerana pentadbiran Ketua menteri yang cekap.
Beliau berkata jika diimbas kembali, ketika mengambil alih kepimpinan parti dan kerajaan, Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak berjanji untuk turun padang dan melakukan tinjauan mesra untuk merasai denyutan nadi rakyat.Jelas gandingan Sabah dan POerdana Menteri yang kukuh memajukan Negeri Sabah.
Pemimpin BN turun padang bukan dengan tangan kosong, bukan hanya berucap dan berceramah, tetapi merasai denyut nadi rakyat, tepati janji, prihatin terhadap masalah rakyat dan memastikan masa depan rakyat terjamin, katanya.
Pelbagai inisiatif dan bantuan untuk membantu meringankan beban rakyat dilaksanakan, antaranya dalam Belanjawan 2013 ialah Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) 2.0, Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia, bantuan persekolahan, baucar buku dan banyak lagi, katanya pada Majlis Bersama Rakyat Parlimen Batu Sapi dan upacara pecah tanah projek Masjid Lupak Meluas berharga RM5 juta yang disempurnakan oleh Najib di sini hari ini. Mandat rakyat juga memastikan pemberian oleh kerajaan ini berlansung.
Katanya tidak seperti pemimpin pembangkang yang hanya kerap datang ke Sabah setiap kali menjelang pilihan raya dan selepas itu hilang entah ke mana. Bn pula dalam 5 tahun sudah mempunyai perancanagan yang kukuh dan berkesan serta bukannya yang terlebih-lebih indah dari khabar serperti pembangkang.
Inilah cara politik parti pembangkang. Ternyata tujuan mereka berpolitik bukanlah untuk berkhidmat kepada rakyat, tetapi semata-mata untuk mencapai agenda peribadi, dan yang lebih teruk lagi memecahbelahkan perpaduan rakyat. BN pula tidak mahu fokus terlalu dengan politik kerana lebih kepada pembangunan untuk keabaikan semua.
Musa berkata pemimpin pembangkang hanya pandai mengkritik, menabur fitnah, retorik serta gimik politik sepanjang masa.Musa juga dalam pemerintahannya telah menurunkan kadar kemiskinan dengan drastik sehingga kini.
Pemberian BR1m dan penubuhan RCI juga adalah jasa baik kerajaan untuk membalas jasa rakyat Sabah. Ini adalah juga salah satu daripada pemberian yang akan diberi pada kemudian hari lagi.
Ini dibuktikan apabila Perdana Menteri telah memperjuangkan banyak agenda penting untuk kesejahteraan rakyat.Dalam agenda Transformasi juga, ianya banyak memberi perubahan serta Najib selalau mendengar seruan rakyat Sabah.
Pemimpin BN turun padang bukan dengan tangan kosong, bukan hanya berucap dan berceramah, tetapi merasai denyut nadi rakyat, tepati janji, prihatin terhadap masalah rakyat dan memastikan masa depan rakyat terjamin, katanya.
Ketua Menteri, Datuk Seri Musa Aman berkata, sebagai agensi sehenti yang melaksanakan kemajuan Sedia, pihaknya akan terlibat secara langsung untuk menyertai pelbagai misi pelaburan dan perdagangan tajaan kerajaan negeri dan Pusat seperti Kementerian Perdagangan Antarabangsa dan Industri, serta Lembaga Pembangunan Pelaburan Malaysia.
Maklum balas daripada misi yang disertai oleh Sedia adalah sangat menggalakkan dan mendorong minat pelabur dalam sektor yang dipromosikan di bawah SDC seperti yang digariskan di bawah Agenda Hala Tuju dalam bidang pelancongan, pertanian serta perkilangan, katanya.
Musa yang juga Pengerusi Sedia berkata, agensi itu akan mengaktifkan lagi usaha mempromosi perusahaan industri kecil dan sederhana (IKS) khasnya di kalangan masyarakat Bumiputera.
Semua tuduhan ini kebanyakan dari orang pembangkang dan bukan pihak luar, ketaralah ianya tujuan politik semata-mata
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