I commend the UMNO Lenggeng Assemblyman Datuk Ishak Ismail for his walk-out during the swearing-in ceremony of the Menteri Besar and Exco members at Istana Besar Seri Menanti last Monday. I also commend former UMNO Kuala Pilah MP, Datuk Abu Zahar Ujang and the new Kuala Pilah MP Datuk Napsiah Omar for taking a strong public stand against Waad’s appointment as State Exco as he had yet to be cleared of the five corruption charges brought against him by the Anti-Corruption Agency.
As Abu Zahar has pointed out, although Waad has been acquitted on three counts of corruption, the case is still not settled since the ACA has filed an appeal against the acquittal and there are two other corruption charges still pending against him.
Waad’s case is not an internal UMNO problem, but the concern of all Malaysians who want a new political culture in Malaysia with zero tolerance for corruption.
This is why DAP supports the demand by Ishak, Abu Zahar and Napsiah that Waad should resign or be sacked from the Negri Sembilan State Exco to protect the integrity of the state and country.
DAP is prepared to co-operate, not only with the Barisan Alternative, but also parties in the Barisan Nasional or their MPs and Assemblymen in the battle against corruption and abuses of power. This will be in line with the DAP’s contribution to a paradigm shift in Malaysian politics where the political arena would be less dominated by race and religion and more issues-centred as in fighting corruption and restoring justice and freedom.
The new tenth Parliament should be in the very forefront to create a national integrity system with zero tolerance for corruption among political leaders and the public service.
One of the first things that the new Parliament should do is to establish an all-party Parliamentary Committee on Corruption to exercise the most stringent oversight function to battle graft, with the Anti-Corruption Agency required to submit an annual report to be scrutinised in the same way as the Parliamentary Accounts Committee examines the Auditor-General’s annual reports.
(18/12/99)