Media statement by Lim Guan Eng in Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday, 6^th April 2011: 

A full Commission of Inquiry into the death of Ahmad Sarbani and an independent review by Transparency International of MACC's operations and methods to fully revamp MACC 

DAP extends condolences to the family of Selangor Customs Assistant Director Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed who was found dead on the first floor open-air badminton court of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission(MACC) KL Building in Jalan Cochrane this morning. DAP is outraged that there is still another death within the grounds of the MACC after the still unresolved tragic death of Teoh Beng Hock. Will the MACC never wake up and learn?

MACC director of investigations Datuk Mustafar Ali said Ahmad was among those detained on April 1 in a nationwide operation for graft involving unpaid taxes and released on bail the next day. Datuk Mustafar said Ahmad was believed to have fallen to his death from the 3rd floor of the KL MACC Building.

According to Datuk Mustafar, Ahmad was with an MACC officer until 10.15am. The MACC officer then left the room for a few minutes to call the investigating office and on his return, he found Ahmad missing. Ahmad's body was found lying on the first floor open-air badminton court at 10.20am.

The death of Ahmad and chain of events leading to his death, gives a tragic sense déjà vu and is a chilling reminder of the death of DAP political secretary Teoh Beng Hock in the Selangor MACC HQ. Despite the promises by MACC that there will no repeat of such cases after Teoh Beng Hock’s death and the tenure of the then Director-General was not extended, the death of Ahmad shows that MACC had not learnt from the tragic lessons of Teoh’s death.

Malaysians do not believe claims by some BN leaders that Teoh committed suicide. Instead they believe that Teoh was murdered. The question remains whether the government is serious about finding out who was responsible and taking action. The tragic death of Ahmad would only deepen suspicion and distrust as well as shatter any public confidence left in the operational and interrogation methods of MACC.

DAP calls for a full Royal Commission of Inquiry(RCI) into the death of Ahmad. This RCI should determine cause of death, punish the culprits responsible and implement safeguards to ensure that suspects are no longer injured or die unnecessary deaths whilst in MACC custody.

At the same time there must be a full revamp of MACC to determine whether MACC can carry out its anti-corruption duties effectively, efficiently, impartially and professionally without causing harm or death to its suspects. The failure of MACC to investigate corruption allegations against Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud shows a clear case of double-standards and systems failure in enforcing the law equally.

A MACC without any public credibility shows that the BN government is not serious about fighting corruption. As part of this full revamp, DAP calls on the Federal government to establish an independent review by Transparency International of MACC’s operations and methods.

*Lim Guan Eng, DAP Secretary General & MP for Bagan