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Nazri should give
Ministerial statement in Parliament as he misled the House yesterday when he
said that Eric Chia and Kasitah Gaddam were among the 18 “high profile”
corruption cases referred to by Rais Yatim Media Conference Statement (2) by Lim Kit Siang (Parliament House, Thursday): The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz had misled Parliament yesterday when he said that the 18 “high profile” corruption cases referred to by the former Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, Datuk Dr. Rais Yatim, in February this year had included former Perwaja Steel Bhd chief executive officer, Tan Sri Eric Chia and the former Land and Co-operative Development Minister, Tan Sri Kasitah Gaddam, when clearly this was not the case. I have here press clippings to show that Eric Chia was charged in court for corruption on February 10, 2004 and Kasitah Gaddam claimed trial to corruption charges on February 12, 2004. Rais Yatim only made the statement in Jelebu on February 13, 2004 that at least another 18 high-profile corruption cases were still with various authorities awaiting further action after the Eric Chia and Kasitah Gaddam cases. In a front-page headline, “18 lagi kes besar – Menteri antara individu berprofil tinggi dalam siasatan BPR”, Utusan Malaysia dated 14.2.2004 reported: “JELEBU 13 Feb. - Sebanyak 18 lagi kes rasuah yang membabitkan individu berprofil tinggi termasuk menteri, kini memasuki peringkat akhir siasatan, kata Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri, Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim. “Menurutnya, apabila prosedur akhir pengumpulan bukti oleh Jabatan Peguam Negara dan Badan Pencegah Rasuah selesai sepenuhnya, mereka ini akan dihadapkan ke mahkamah. “Bagaimanapun Rais enggan mendedahkan mereka yang dikatakan sedang disiasat itu. “’Saya cuma boleh katakan bahawa mereka ini mempunyai reputasi kepentingan awam yang tinggi, profil yang tinggi dan mempunyai nilai tanggungjawab yang berada pada strata teratas. “’Walau bagaimanapun terdapat sebahagian daripada 18 kes itu mempunyai beberapa masalah dari segi pengumpulan bukti-bukti kukuh bagi menyokong siasatan dan dakwaan,' katanya kepada pemberita selepas melakukan lawatan kerja ke Kampung Orang Asli Ulu Lakai, di sini hari ini.” It is clear that Nazri had told an untruth and misled the House when he claimed that Eric Chia and Kasitah Gaddam were among the “18 high-profile” corruption cases referred to by Rais Yatim, who had referred to “another 18 high-profile corruption cases” after the arrest and charging of the two. In fact, Nazri had also misled the House with regard to other personalities. Nazri had said that 12 of the 18 high-profile cases referred to by Rais had been charged in court after thorough investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA), including Eric Chia and Kasitah Gaddam. Other personalities referred to by Nazri as having been charged in court included two former Selangor executive council members, two former MPs, two from Permodalan Nasional Berhad, the general manager of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia, the general manager of Telekom, one Perak executive councilor and the Kangar Municipal Council President. A quick check shows that the former Kangar Municipal Council president Baharudin Ahmad was charged for four counts of corruption on February 10, before Rais Yatim’s statement of “another 18 high-profile corruption cases”. Further checks may show up more cases referred to by Nazri as among the “18 high-profile” cases, when they are not. |