UMNO Supreme Council should authorize  UMNO Disciplinary Board to inquire into the serious new allegations of  money politics against 15 UMNO leaders, including two Ministers, two Deputy  Ministers, two CMs and two MBs

Media Statement
by Lim Kit Siang  

(Ipoh, Friday): The UMNO Supreme Council should authorize the UMNO Disciplinary Board to lift the arbitrary deadline of April 18 for complaints of  money politics in the UMNO party elections last year to inquire into the serious new allegations of money politics against 15 UMNO leaders, including two Ministers, two Deputy Ministers, two Chief Ministers and two Mentris Besar.

As reported by Malaysiakini yesterday, several UMNO Supreme Council members have confirmed receipt of the  letter sent in June  containing the allegations in the name of UMNO Kuala Krai deputy division chief Sayed Mohd Ali Saipuddin Sayed Yaacob.

UMNO Supreme Council member and Chairman of Barisan Nasional Backbenchers’ Club, Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad, while acknowledging receipt  of a copy of the letter, questioned the motives of the writer.

It will be most unfortunate and unconvincing if substantive justice in getting to the root of serious allegations of money politics and corrupt practices  against top party and government leaders is frustrated or denied because of a technicality, such as the April 18 deadline on the  submission of complaints about money politics, or waylaid by extraneous issues such as the motives of the writer.

The issue is very simple and straightforward -  whether there is any truth in  the allegations of money politics and corrupt practices against the 15 UMNO leaders.

It is within  the power of the UMNO Supreme Council to lift the April 18 deadline when this is warranted by special circumstances, as in the submission of serious new allegations of money politics involving one elected UMNO Vice President, three defeated Vice Presidential candidates, six elected UMNO Supreme Council members and five defeated Supreme Council candidates.

I have read the letter concerned, sent by post, and I find it most serious which  warrant a full and thorough investigation to bring to book those guilty of corrupt practices or to  clear the name of leaders unfairly implicated in the allegations.

If the Sayed Mohd Ali Saipuddin allegations of money politics and corrupt practices  against 15 named UMNO and government leaders at both national and state levels are allowed to stand uncontradicted, without a full investigation into their truth or falsity, everyone of the 15 leaders named will be under a cloud as to their integrity for the rest of their political life.

The UMNO Supreme Council should bear in mind the warning  by the Regent of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah yesterday that allowing corruption  to take root is  a social disease that will bring ruin to the country and  destroy the economy.

All the 15 UMNO and government leaders implicated in the latest new allegations of money politics in UMNO should openly support  the waiver of the April 18 deadline to give powers to the UMNO Disciplinary Board to conduct a full and no-holds-barred investigation into the allegations, so that they could  clear their reputation or be required to face the full consequences if they had been guilty of money politics and corrupt practices as alleged.

(14/07/2005)