Press Statement
by Lim Guan Eng

(Petaling Jaya, Friday):  The police must explain the latest developments on the police reports lodged by Malaysian Airlines Systems Bhd (MAS) in 2002 against its former executive Chairman Tan Sri Tajudin Ramli. This follows MAS suit two days ago against Tajudin, former MasKargo vice-president Ralph Manfred Gotz and Uwe Juergen Beck, a former consultant of the company for RM174.6mil over losses suffered by MAS during Tajudin’s tenure.

In filing the suit at the Shah Alam High Court, MAS claimed that it had suffered losses of RM 174.6 million for its cargo operations in Hahn Airport, Germany, from March 1999 to July 2001 resulting from breaches of duties during Tajudin’s tenure as executive chairman. Tajudin resigned as chairman of MAS in February 2001 after heading the company for more than seven years.

In February 2002, MAS said that it had asked the police to investigate allegations of management irregularities. MAS  lodged a police report on Jan 9, 2002 that had focused on possible contraventions of the Companies Act when Tajudin was in charge of the carrier over two controversial cargo ventures – in Hahn in 1999 and in Sharjah, the United Arab Emirates, in 2000 – that saw MAS losing RM11 million monthly. Despite opposition by the board of directors, the deal went through. Subsequently two senior officials quit in protest.

MAS lodged the report following an audit ordered by the new management after the government bought back control of MAS from Tajudin. The report alleged that Tajudin had failed to disclose his interests in a German cargo firm that MAS had contracted to use as its European cargo hub.  

In July this year the media reported that MAS lodged another police report with the Federal Commercial Crime Department and investigated Tajudin, former company secretary Rizana Mohd Daud who is Tajudin’s sister-in-law, former director Wan Aishah Wan Hamid and Gotz. The people are puzzled why no action has been taken even though police reports have been lodged by MAS for over two and a half years.

In view of the huge amounts of monies involved and that this is a matter of public interest as MAS is owned by Malaysians, the police should explain that status of investigations.   When the Royal Commission To Enhance the Operation and Management of the Royal Malaysia Police was released in May this year, amongst the  125 recommendations were that the police must respond to those who lodge police reports on the status of their reports.

As more than two and a half years has elapsed, public interest demands that the police inform the public the outcome of the investigations. Even if the police is unable to complete investigations, the police must explain why they are unable to do so in the interests of accountability and transparency.

(21/10/2005)