The UMNO Supreme Council will be judged by Malaysians as to whether it is serious in combatting money politics and corruption when it meets to consider appeals by six UMNO leaders who had been suspended by the UMNO Disciplinary Board for money politics, on the following three issues:
Firstly, whether it would sack Datuk Zainol Mat Isa as Kedah State Exco member, as otherwise, the statement by the Prime Minister that he wanted the country to be ruled by those who are clean and not involved in money politics becomes totally meaningless.
Secondly, whether it would require Tan Sri Khalil Yaakob to immediately take leave as UMNO Secretary-General and Information Minister, as it makes a total mockery of UMNO's commitment to wipe out money politics and corruption when the UMNO Secretary-General and the Information Minister could still be in office after a police report of corruption had been lodged against him by the UMNO Pahang State Assemblyman for Beserai, Datuk Fauzi Talib. Khalil must be required to set an example in the new politicla culture of zero tolerance of corruption in high political places by going on leave as UMNO Secretary-General and Information Minister until completion of ACA investigations and he has been cleared of any corrupt practice or wrongdoing.
Thirdly, whether it would refer all the six UMNO leaders suspended for money politics and corruption to the Anti-Corruption Agency for follow-up investigations and actions to be taken against them, including their arrest and prosecution in the courts.
The fly in the ointment is that the ACA has become an even greater disappointment since a new director-general was appointed to take over the ACA from Datuk Zaki Husain.
It is now more than seven weeks since the former Sarawak Police Commissioner Datuk Zulkifli Mat Noor was appointed to head the ACA, and in the past seven weeks, the ACA seems to have disappeared totally from public consciousness.
I do not know Zulkifli but believe that he must be a consdientious policeman who is a very obedient servant of the government of the day. But these are not the qualities we want from the director-general of the ACA, who must be prepared not to be an obedient servant of the government if there are clear cases of corruption and other malpractices against government officials and the political masters.
This is why in the history of the ACA for over three decades, no policeman had ever been appointed to head the ACA, and why the appointment of Zulkifli to head the anti-corruption agency is not an encouraging sign or good news that Malaysians can look forward to an inspiring ACA war against corruption.
(20/5/2001)