Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad gave an amazing speech to 400 officers of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to celebrate his 100-days in office as the new Chief Commissioner in Putrajaya yesterday.
He took pains to remind politicians and community leaders not to fool the people with fairy tales while at the same time engaging in corruption.
“Don’t be swayed by the desire to be praised and raised on thrones, to the extent of neglecting judgement and (public) interests. Stop lulling the people with fables and fairy tales which hide the truth, when at the same time you greedily grab the spoils of corruption,” he said, to thundering applause from MACC officers.
Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad even demanded that those elected representatives who are corrupt to surrender themselves.
“To those still drunk and drowning in graft, heed this warning. For the last time, stop this betrayal of corruption and abuse of power. Surrender. Stop foolishly beating your chest, lest you risk your life and limbs and fall into tragedy,” he said.
If Malaysians haven’t been made cynical by all that has taken place in Malaysia over the past two years including, but not limited to, the forced retirement of the former Attorney-General, the sacking of the Deputy Prime Minister, the transfers of the Special Branch Chief and key MACC senior investigation officials and the promotion of the PAC Chairman and his members to the Cabinet, they might just have applauded the statement of intent by Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad.
Today however, he will not be given any benefit of the doubt. Instead he will be asked the simple question – if he, as the MACC Chief is aware of elected representatives who were indeed “drunk and drowning in graft”, why haven’t they been arrested yet?
Why is Datuk Dzulkifli spending time thumping his own chest when he should waste no time to remove these corrupt leaders from positions of authority and power?
In fact, in the light of the circumstances today, Malaysians are asking if Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad is referring to none other than Dato’ Seri Najib Razak, who has been acknowleged as the “Malaysian Official 1” who have received US$731 million from state-owned 1MDB via overseas intermediaries?
When Datuk Dzulkifli referred to “fables and fairy tales which hide the truth”, was he referring to the previously oft quoted excuse that Dato’ Seri Najib Razak had received the above sums as a generous unconditional donation from a mysterious and unnamed Arab donor? After all the case submitted by the US Department of Justice have proven that the Arab donor is a figment of the BN Minister’s imagination.
Or were the “fables and fairy tales” referring to Dato’ Seri Najib Razak’s 2017 Budget speech which not only failed to address kleptocracy label against the country, he “beat his chest” declaring that nothing is wrong while persisting with grand corruption via the announcement of the world’s most expensive railway line, the RM55 billion East Coast Rail Link?
The MACC was unlawfully instructed by the Attorney-General Tan Sri Apandi Ali via a press conference in January this year, after he cleared Dato’ Seri Najib Razak of all wrong-doings. Datuk Dzulkifli was an officer in the Attorney-General’s Chambers then and sat right next to Tan Sri Apandi Ali during the announcement.
The point is simple – will Datuk Dzulkifli Ahmad, as the “new” Chief of MACC, resume the investigations against Datuk Seri Najib Razak for corruption and criminal breach of trust for siphoning some RM4 billion from company owned by the Ministry of Finance, 1MDB and SRC International, whether directly or via intermediaries?
If not, then he is nothing but a complete hypocrite who works only to serve his political masters, and not the people of Malaysia.