Media Statement by Lim Kit Siang in Petaling Jaya on Wednesday, 2^nd September 2009: 

The 42 MACC Panel members should meet in emergency session on whether Ahmad Said is fit and competent to continue as MACC Chief Commissioner or they should call for his dismissal

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Said Ahmad Hamdan has shown himself to be completely callous and heartless over the mysterious death of Teoh Beng Hock who went to the 14^th floor MACC headquarters on July 16 to co-operate with its investigations but ended up as a corpse on the fifth floor.

Ahmad Said told Sin Chew that he had been informed that there had been ten cases of people investigated by Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) who threw themselves off from high-rise buildings since the establishment of ICAC and there was nothing he could do if people investigated cannot withstand the pressure.

The implication of Ahmad Said’s statement is crystal clear – he is blaming Teoh’s death on suicide for being unable to withstand the pressure of investigation by the MACC, seeking justification in the alleged ten cases in Hong Kong of people “throwing themselves off high-rise buildings” following ICAC investigations.

Ahmad Said should confirm whether there had been ten suicide cases of persons investigated by ICAC in Hong Kong, giving the circumstances surrounding each such suicide – as it will be the height of irresponsibility on Ahmad Said’s part if he is unable to back up his claim.

Furthermore, out of these 10 suicide cases in Hong Kong, how many of them were suspects and how many were witnesses – as MACC had been at pains to declare that it was taking a statement from Teoh as a witness and not as a suspect.

If Ahmad Said cannot substantiate his claim of ten cases of suicide over Hong Kong’s ICAC investigations, he should apologise for making an irresponsible claim.

In trying to absolve all MACC responsibility for Teoh’s death, Ahmad Said is showing utter contempt for widespread public concerns about MACC’s Gestapo operations and interrogation techniques, as well as showing no sense of remorse or compassion whatsoever for Teoh’s death and the bereavement of Teoh’s family.

Ahmad Said should also explain why MACC is so irresponsible as to put out two theories of Teoh’s death – that he committed suicide or he was murdered by people other than MACC.

The 42 MACC Panel members should meet in emergency session on whether Ahmad Said is fit and competent to continue as MACC Chief Commissioner or they should call for his dismissal.

Furthermore, the 42 MACC Panel members cannot continue to be indifferent to the betrayal of the MACC statutory objectives to declare an all-out war against corruption as intended by Parliament as the present MACC had embarked instead on an all-out war against Pakatan Rakyat as catspaw of Umno/Barisan Nasional in the grand conspiracy to the topple the Pakatan Rakyat Selangor State Government.

*Lim Kit Siang, DAP Parliamentary leader & MP for Ipoh Timor