PAS Terengganu state government should form an independent  commission of inquiry into the corruption, cronyism,  nepotism, discrimination and conspiracy  of the previous Barisan Nasional state government which had caused the new state government to suffer debts exceeding RM731 million as well as the Perwaja scandal

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Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang 

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PAS Terengganu state government should establish an independent  commission of inquiry into the corruption, cronyism, nepotism, discrimination and conspiracy of the previous Barisan Nasional state government which had  caused the new state government to suffer debts exceeding RM731 million.

Such a royal commission of inquiry would serve three  purposes:
 

• Implement the Barisan Alternative (BA) commitment to create greater transparency and accountability in Malaysian politics as contained in the BA common manifesto "Towards a Just Malaysia" to start the process to create a new political culture of zero tolerance for corruption and all forms of malpractices.
• Set an example for the Barisan Nasional to emulate, whether at the national or for  other states apart from Terengganu and Kelantan, of independent commissions of inquiry into corruption, cronyism and nepotism.
• Serve as a warning to all political leaders, whether at federal or state level, to be fully aware that there could be a time of accounting and judgment if they abused  the mandate of power for self-aggrandizement  by resorting to corruption, cronyism and nepotism.

Yesterday,  during the debate on the 2000 Budget in the Terengganu State Assembly, PAS State Assemblyman for Paka, Saiful Bahri Mamat called on the state government to set up an independent commission to investigate irregularities committed by the previous Barisan Nasional state government.

Are the UMNO Terengganu Assemblymen prepared to support such a proposal to demonstrate  their confidence that the previous Barisan Nasional state government had never been guilty of  corruption, cronyism, nepotism, discrimination and conspiracy as to cause the state to be indebted by over RM731 million?

Such an independent commission of inquiry should also investigate into the widespread mismanagement of the state’s oil money, which had been directed to prop up poor investments, such as the scandal-scarred Perwaja Terengganu Sdn. Bhd., in which the Terengganu state government owns a 19 per cent stake.

Saddled with a debt of about RM10 billion, Perwaja is the biggest  financial fiasco of Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad’s 18-year premiership.

An internal audit, completed in December 1995, detailed an array of irregularities by previous management.  The report alleged that Perwaja’s finances were damaged by inaccurate accounting records and millions of ringgit in apparently unauthorized contracts with Malaysian and foreign companies.

To date, nobody had been charged in court for wrongdoing - making Perwaja the greatest "heinous crime without criminals" in the 18-year tenure of Mahathir as Prime Minister.

The Terengganu state government can put this right by insisting on proper accounting for all the Perwaja mismanagements and irregularities - and one way to force open the Perwaja scandal is by  the establishment of an independent commission of inquiry into all the misdeeds of the previous Barisan Nasional state government - including its negligence and irresponsibility in failing to protect the Terengganu state government’s investments in Perwaja by demanding an efficient, honest and upright management.

By forcing open the Perwaja scandal, the Terengganu state government would be doing a great service not only to the state but also to the nation and all Malaysians!
 
(23/12/99)