After Murad had made public his statutory declaration at a press conference on Thursday, 28th October 1999, the Anti-Corruption Agency swung into immediate action and set up a special team to investigate into Murad’s allegations against Anwar headed by the agency's Investigations Division director Abdul Razak Idris.
Yesterday, ACA director-general Datuk Ahmad Zaki Hussin said that almost every paragraph of Murad’s seven-page statutory declaration contained some information on corruption or corruption practices.
Zaki said: "We consider Murad’s statement as information on corrupt
practices and they are serious because they are in a sworn statement".
Is Zaki suggesting that based on Murad’s 20-paragraph statutory
declaration, Anwar could be levelled with scores or even hundreds
of charges of corruption?
It is most astounding that the ACA director-general is prepared to accept Murad’s statutory declaration as sufficient prima facie evidence to institute anti-corruption investigations against Anwar, and even to plan to go globe-trotting to investigate Murad’s allegations on the US-based Asia-Pacific Policy Centre.
However, the ACA is not prepared to accord the same or even greater weight to the four police reports lodged by Anwar on corruption and abuses of power in the highest levels of government, naming the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the first Finance Minister, Tun Daim Zainuddin, the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz, the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah and Deputy Public Prosecutor Datuk Gani Patail and former Malacca Chief Minister Tan Sri Rahim Tamby Cik, even though Anwar had backed up his police reports with documentary evidence.
While I should be welcoming and commending Zaki and ACA for their unwonted speed in responding and investigating allegations of corruption in high political places, its independence, professionalism and integrity comes under question when they seem to be playing to the tune of the Barisan Nasional government leadership in its 13-month political vendetta against Anwar.
Once the ACA acts synchronously with the Barisan Nasional leadership, serving its pre-election agenda to eliminate Anwar Ibrahim as a political threat to the Barisan Nasional, then ACA loses all its credibility and is seen only as another Barisan Nasional tool to make the next general election the "dirtiest" in the nation’s history.
Malaysians are entitled to ask why the ACA is making daily statements about investigations into Anwar on the basis of Murad’s statutory declarations, when the ACA had not dared to say anything about investigations into Mahathir, Daim, Rafidah Aziz and Rahim Tamby Cik based on Anwar’s police reports supported with documentary proof?
Why is the ACA showing such public zeal to pursue investigations against Anwar by making daily statements, which is completely lacking when it comes to Mahathir, Daim, Rafidah Aziz and Rahim Tamby Cik? What makes Murad’s statutory declaration more believable to ACA as compared to Anwar’s police reports supported by documentary evidence?
The ACA is not meant to be a cat’s-paw of the Barisan Nasional leadership in its political vendetta against Anwar, but is mandated by the Malaysian people to be a fearless sword to strike against corruption, coming from whatever quarter.
If ACA has prima facie evidence to believe that it has good cause to initiate investigations against Anwar, it will have the DAP’s full support; but it must act without fear and favour and must be prepared to extend the same treatment to all the high-and-mighty in government, especially those named in Anwar’s four police reports.
Zaki has done grave damage to the reputation of ACA officers on their independence, integrity and professionalism by playing to the tune of the Barisan Nasional leadership on the matter of Murad’s statutory declaration, which had been denied and challenged by many parties named, such as Dr. Chandra Muzaffar, Aliran, ABIM, Tan Sri Abdullah Ahmad and even by Anwar himself.
DAP openly invites Zaki and his ACA officers to the DAP English forum
"Towards A Just Malaysia" at the Federal Hotel, Kuala Lumpur tomorrow,
Monday, 1 November 1999, from 7.30 p.m. to 11 p.m. to convince Malaysians
that the ACA is not applying double-standards and is not a cats’-paw of
any quarter in anti-corruption investigations in high political places.
(31/10/99)