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All UMNO Wakil
Rakyats Who Were Found Guilty And Suspended From Holding Party Posts For
Involvement In Money Politics Should Also Resign Their Positions To Uphold
Accountability And Public Integrity In Office (Petaling Jaya, Thursday): All UMNO wakil rakyats who were found guilty and suspended from holing party posts for involvement in money politics should also resign their positions to uphold accountability and public integrity in office. There are MPs, State Assemblymen who are amongst those suspended and they have a public obligation and moral duty to their constituents and the country to resign from their posts. Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said there were 61 cases of UMNO leaders that were found guilty by the disciplinary board and 33 had appealed. The decision was part of 33 appeal cases endorsed without change by the supreme council yesterday. The Umno disciplinary board had found the 33 guilty of various offences during the party elections, including practising money politics and breaches of the party's code of ethics. Amongst UMHO leaders suspended were Titiwangsa MP Datuk Astamam Abd Aziz (Wangsa Maju division chief), Changkat Jong assemblyman Datuk Onn Hamzah, and Melaka State EXCO For Tourism, Culture and Heritage (Kota Melaka division chief) Datuk Wira Amid Nordin. If these leaders are not qualified to hold posts in UMNO because of their involvement in money politics, they are certainly not qualified to be MPs or State Assemblyman. For this reason they should resign and allow for replacements who are not tinged by involvement in money politics. At the same time, DAP calls on the Anti-Corruption Agency(ACA) to investigate and take action against these 61 cases found guilty by UMNO. As action has been taken against UMNO against these members for involvement in money politics, there is an actionable cause for investigation by the ACA to see whether those who have been taken action against have also violated the law. Is there a higher moral ethical or legal standard for UMNO members where one may NOT be qualified to hold posts in UMNO due to involvement in money politics but fully qualified to hold posts that deals with public trust or monies? We must not forget that state assemblyman and MPs deals with development allocations running into hundreds of thousands of ringgit. Accordingly the ACA should investigate and take action where anti-corruption laws have been breached but also uphold the minimal standards of transparency and accountability required for holders of public office. Holders of public office must have unquestionable integrity where they are not only clean but seen to be clean.
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