I welcome the prompt official statement issued from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) denying that the public has footed the bill for the engagement ceremony of the Prime Minister’s daughter, despite a clear evidence in the form of a “Banquet Event Order” (BEO) from Shangrila Hotel that suggests otherwise as the whole booking and payment instructions were dealt with by the PMO.

PMO’s demand for my instant apology is premature at this junction as the two paragraphs statement consists of only mere denials, without any hard evidence or facts that can support the denial. Nor did the PMO dispute the veracity of the BEO document produced against the Prime Minister.

In the midst of widespread scepticism against Barisan Nasional’s commitment to combat corruption, a mere denial such as that is hardly convincing; let alone when there is a hard evidence produced that corroborates the allegation that PMO has managed the whole booking and payments of the event.

Therefore, in order to clear his name, I urge Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak to answer the following questions backed up by hard evidence in the form official documents to prove that the public did not foot the bill for his daughter’s engagement party:

 

First, he has to confirm (or deny) that the engagement party did cost as much as specified in the BEO document produced against him;

Second, he has to confirm (or deny) the veracity and authenticity of the Banquet Event Order (BEO) produced against him that clearly specifies the PMO as the party footing the bill;

Third, he has to instruct the PMO to produce the original copy of the Purchase Order sent to Shangrila Hotel to ascertain which party was originally responsible for making the order,

Fourth, he has to instruct the PMO to produce the original snapshot of the accounting transaction from the Government of Malaysia’s (GOM’s) accounting system which recorded the Purchase Order, to ascertain whether the order (allegedly raised by the PMO) was ever recorded in the accounting system,

Fifth, he has to instruct the PMO to produce the original copy of the invoice sent by Shangrila Hotel in relation to the event as it can be used to determine whether the whole expenses were charged personally to the Prime Minister as he claims,

Sixth, he has to instruct the PMO to produce the original snapshot of the accounting transaction from the Government of Malaysia’s (GOM’s) accounting system which recorded the invoice sent by Shangrila Hotel, to ascertain whether the liability to pay the invoice was ever recorded in the accounting system,

Seventh, he has to instruct the PMO to produce the original payment voucher made to Shangrila Hotel to ascertain the party which first settled the bill; and

Eight, he has to produce proof of payments in the form of a copy of his personal cheque used to pay, or his bank statements or any third party records of his financial transactions that can substantiate his claim that he did pay for the bill.

 

The rakyat can only be satisfied that the Prime Minister did not use the public money to pay for his daughter’s engagement banquet if these eight evidences can be produced to establish with certainty that at no time, the Government of Malaysia ever recorded a liability to pay for the bill. Even if the Prime Minister did reimburse the payment later on, if it can be established that the bill of almost half a million ringgit was at one point or another recorded in the accounting system of the government, that already constitutes an abuse of government position for his personal interest.

Unless these eight questions and hard evidences are produced to the public, he will grapple with the public perception that despite his massive campaign to portray him as a clean and transparent Prime Minister, he is no different from his other colleagues in the cabinet who allegedly use the public fund for personal gains.

 

MOHD RAFIZI RAMLI

DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIES, KEADILAN

10 MARCH 2012 

Saya menyambut baik kenyataan rasmi yang pantas dikeluarkan oleh Pejabat Perdana Menteri menafikan bahawa perbelanjaan majlis pertunangan anak Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak pada 17 Jun 2011 lalu dibiayai oleh wang rakyat melalui Pejabat Perdana Menteri, walaupun dokumen dari Hotel Shangrila yang mengendalikan majlis secara jelas menunjukkan semua urusan tempahan dan bayaran dibuat melalui Pejabat Perdana Menteri.

Persoalan saya memohon maaf tidak timbul kerana kenyataan dua perenggan itu hanyalah satu penafian, tanpa ada sebarang bukti atau fakta yang boleh menafikan kesahihan dokumen atau tuduhan yang dibawa terhadap Perdana Menteri.

Dalam suasana kepercayaan rakyat terhadap iltizam Barisan Nasional memerangi rasuah adalah sangat rendah, penafian semata-mata tidaklah mencukupi. Apatah lagi apabila dokumen yang dibawa menjadi bukti kukuh bahawa Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengendalikan urusan tempahan dan bayaran bagi majlis itu.

Oleh yang demikian, untuk membersihkan nama beliau, saya menyeru Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak menjawab perkara-perkara berikut dengan mengemukakan dokumen rasmi sebagai bukti perbelanjaan pertunangan anak beliau tidak dibayar oleh rakyat:

Pertama, beliau perlu mengesahkan sama ada perbelanjaan yang tertera seperti dokumen Hotel Shangrila itu adalah perbelanjaan majlis pertunangan anak beliau;

Kedua, beliau perlu mengesahkan sama ada dokumen Banquet Event Order (BEO) yang dikemukakan oleh saya adalah dokumen yang sah dan bukannya palsu;

Ketiga, beliau perlu mengarahkan Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengemukakan kepada rakyat salinan Purchase Order (dokumen tempahan) yang dihantar kepada Hotel Shangrila untuk menentukan pihak manakah sebenarnya yang bertanggungjawab membuat tempahan tersebut;

Keempat, beliau perlu mengarahkan Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengemukakan rekod perakaunan dari sistem perakaunan Kerajaan Malaysia yang merekodkan Purchase Order tersebut, bagi menentukan sama ada tempahan direkodkan sebagai tanggungan Kerajaan Malaysia;

Kelima, beliau perlu mengarahkan Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengemukakan kepada rakyat salinan invois yang dihantar oleh Hotel Shangrila kerana ia boleh menjadi bukti bahawa ia dicaj kepada Perdana Menteri atas kapasiti peribadi beliau ataupun ditanggung oleh Kerajaan Malaysia;

Keenam, beliau perlu mengarahkan Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengemukakan rekod perakauan dari sistem perakaunan Kerajaan Malaysia yang merekodkan invois tersebut, bagi menentukan sama ada bayaran akan dibuat oleh Kerajaan Malaysia; dan

Ketujuh, beliau perlu mengarahkan Pejabat Perdana Menteri mengemukakan baucer bayaran yang dibuat kepada Hotel Shangrila untuk menentukan siapakah yang mula-mula sekali menyelesaikan tanggungan belanja majlis tersebut; dan

Kelapan, beliau perlu mengemukakan bukti bayaran yang dibuat oleh beliau dan keluarga beliau untuk menanggung perbelanjaan tersebut; termasuklah salinan cek, penyata bank atau dokumen-dokumen lain dari akaun bank peribadi beliau.

 

Sekiranya Perdana Menteri berjaya mengemukakan dokumen-dokumen ini dan membuktikan tidak pernah sekalipun caj tanggungan berjumlah hampir setengah juta itu direkodkan sebagai tanggungan Kerajaan Malaysia, barulah rakyat Malaysia boleh berpuas hati bahawa majlis mewah untuk pertunangan anak beliau itu tidak ditanggung rakyat Malaysia.

Jika tidak, beliau akan berdepan dengan persepsi rakyat bahawa beliau pun tidak ubah seperti menteri-menteri lain di dalam kabinetnya yang menggunakan wang rakyat dengan sewenang-wenangnya untuk bermewah bagi tujuan peribadi.

 

MOHD RAFIZI RAMLI

PENGARAH STRATEGI KEADILAN

10 MAC 2012 

Seperti yang dilaporkan oleh BERNAMA

a) The following is the letter written by Dr Mahathir to Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel in 1993, as released by the Foreign Ministry here today.

Prime Minister Malaysia
December 21, 1993

His Excellency
Mr Yitzhak Rabin
Prime Minister of Israel
Jerusalem

I would like to thank you for your letter of 17 October informing me about the Agreement of Principles and Mutual Recognition between Israel and the PLO.

My government supports this positive development and views it as a first step towards the realization of a comprehensive solution to the Middle East problem. As a demonstration of Malaysia’s support to this development my country was represented at the Donor’s Conference to support The Middle East Peace held in Washington and subsequently pledged a modest financial contribution to the Palestinians to assist in their new tasks. My government has also offered the Palestinians technical assistance under the Malaysian Technical Cooperation Programme.

Malaysia as a matter of general principle is prepared to develop relations with Israel at the appropriate time. In the meantime, we would like to see tangible progress in the implementation of the peace agreement.

The Middle East problem particularly the Palestinian issue has been a cause of instability to the region and I hope the recent agreement between Israel and PLO would contribute to lasting peace to the area.

* I look forward to normal relations with Israel. (*This last sentence is handwritten)

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

b) The following is the letter written by Dr Mahathir to Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel in 1997, as released by the Foreign Ministry here today.

Prime Minister Malaysia
March 14, 1997

His Excellency
Mr Benjamin Netanyahu
Prime Minister of Israel
Jerusalem

Your Excellency,

Your letter dated January 23rd only reached me yesterday. I appreciate very much your taking the trouble to inform me on the situation in Palestine and the region. Unfortunately much of what you have written has been overtaken by events.

Malaysia believes in peace and in settlement of problems between neighbours through negotiations. As a last resort, we turn to third parties. In disputes over territories between Malaysia and Singapore and Malaysia and Indonesia we have agreed to get the World Court to decide. Dispute between Malaysia and Thailand over territorial waters was resolved by agreeing to share the non-marine resources equally.

Within the country, disparities in wealth distribution between the indigenous people and those of immigrant origins were resolved through affirmative action in which the have knots would have a bigger share of a growing economic cake but there would be no expropriation and redistribution of what already belonged to the descendants of immigrants. Everyone has very nearly a fair share now and everyone is fairly satisfied. Relations between the different races in Malaysia are good and not disruptive.

The important point I would like to stress is not to take what already belongs to others even though historically they may be yours. Lately, Israel has been pulling down Arab dwellings in order to erect houses for Israelis. The whole world, including your ally, the United States condemns this. But Israel has gone ahead.

You condemn Syria for making threats. But their threats are the response to your own action. If you forcibly take over land and property belonging to the Palestinians, the only response if they are not to violently act against you, is to threaten to act against you. If they cannot retaliate and they cannot voice their intended retaliation, than they would have to submit to all your action no matter how wrong. What you are doing now is against the spirit and the letter of the peace process agreed to by your predecessor. How can we trust Israel if a change in the government negates solemnly given undertakings by a Government of Israel. Please reconsider your decision to build new Jewish settlements on Arab land.

The Israeli youths are here. Our intention is to show them that Muslims are normal rational people who want to live in peace and freedom. We hope that they will have a new impression of Muslims and Islam. There will be aberrations among Muslims but there are also aberrations among Jews and Christians and people of every religion. No religion should be judged by these aberrations. We hope that the youths will understand Muslims better and will want to be at peace with them. To have peace you have to make sacrifices. The Palestinians no longer demand the elimination of Israel. They are even prepared to share Jerusalem with you. They have made sacrifices.

We should remember that when Jews were persecuted in Europe, they had always found sanctuary among Muslims in Muslim countries. We don’t regard Israelis as eternal enemies. But we cannot help but sympathise with the Palestinians because their land is being taken away from them now. It may have belonged to Jews three thousand years ago. A lot of traditional Malay land have been made part of Thailand. But we are not claiming Southern Thailand as part of Malaysia. If we go too far into the past we cannot live with our neighbours.

We are ready to have economic and technological cooperation with Israel but we cannot do so yet because you have not honoured commitments made by a legitimate Government of Israel. We would like to think that once we have established relations with you, it would be permanent.

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

c) The following is the letter written by Dr Mahathir to Ehud Barak, Prime Minister Elect of Israel, in 1999, as released by the Foreign Ministry here today.

Prime Minister Malaysia
June 8, 1999

His Excellency
Mr Ehud Barak Prime Minister Elect of Israel
Tel Aviv

Your Excellency,

May I extend my congratulations on your victory in the recent elections. With this impressive mandate, I hope that you and your coalition partners will be able to guide the destiny of the people of Israel at the threshold of a new Century.

I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate that Malaysia has always sought peace and the settlement of problems between neighbours through negotiations. It is therefore our hope to see the mutual implementation of the agreements signed between the PLO and Israel. We also believe that if the peace process is to be salvaged, sincere and effective steps must be taken to honour commitments.

As an important partner in the peace process it is crucial for Israel to be more accommodating. The Palestinians have made major sacrifices. They no longer demand the elimination of Israel. They are even prepared to share Jerusalem with you. It is therefore timely that Israel respond positively so as to sustain the hopes of the people in both Palestine and Israel. Solemn commitments made by a previous Government must be honoured. The alternative I am afraid, would be a permanent state of conflict and regional instability extending into the next Century. This is certainly a prospect that must be avoided.

The crux of the problem is that no party should revert to the old ways of taking what belongs to others, on the one hand and instigating hatred and violence, on the other. Malaysia cannot countenance aggression by anyone, whether friend or foe. Any country that forcibly takes over land and properties of others, or demolishes dwellings belonging to others in order to set up its own settlements cannot be said to be sincere in wanting peace.

Malaysia is of the firm conviction that the security of all countries in West Asia can only be assured with the establishment of a just, lasting, and comprehensive peace in the region. This must be based on the principle of “exchange of land for peace” and the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The world looks forward to Israel under your leadership, to push forward the peace process with true determination. It is my sincere hope that the attainment of a comprehensive settlement in the region would allow Malaysia to realistically envisage a positive move towards the establishment of normal relations with Israel.

Yours sincerely,

Dr Mahathir bin Mohamad

While KEADILAN acknowledges the legal right of Danaharta and Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli to settle out-of-court legal suits concerning a RM589 million debt incurred by the latter for his purchase of MAS shares, the authorities cannot ignore that there have been a series of police and MACC reports made against the former corporate figure.

He has been accused of masterminding various fraudulent transactions that constitute a serious breach of fiduciary and statutory duties that had partly contributed to MAS’ disadvantaged financial performance ever since his tenure at the national airlines. In particular, two police reports dated 4^th January 2002 (Dang Wangi Report 347/02) and 4^th May 2005 (Dang Wangi Report 12532/05) had been lodged by MAS to press for his accountability for the fraudulent transactions.

It is a known fact that MAS was a pride of the nation with RM600 million cash reserve when he took over in 1994, but ended up with accumulated losses of RM8 billion when he left in 2001. The financial burden inherited from the accumulated losses during his time continues to cash a shadow over MAS’ financial performance in spite of successive business turnaround plans implemented since his departure.

Partly as a result of the accumulated losses suffered, MAS had to enter the Comprehensive Collaboration Framework (CCF) with AirAsia that is deemed to be against the interest of the majority of the workers and other stakeholders in MAS.

In this context, the allegation of criminal frauds committed by Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli is a serious national issue as it impacts the livelihood of tens of thousands ordinary Malaysians, whose hard work went down the drain because of the mismanagement of certain corporate captains deemed close to the ruling establishment. The authorities including PDRM and MACC must explain to the public why there has not been any action taken on Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli in spite of clear evidence adduced against him. Worse, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak’s continued silence on this issue dilutes further any notion that he is serious about combating graft in the country.

On top of this, Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli’s claim that he was a proxy in the acquisition of MAS and acted under the instruction of the then Prime Minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad warrants an investigation of the highest urgency. The fact that agencies controlled by the government (including Danaharta and GLCs) chose to back down and reached an out-of-court settlement shrouded in secrecy will inevitably strengthen Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli’s claim that he was indeed just a proxy.

If he was a proxy, who was then the real master who should be accountable for ruining the livelihood and economic future of tens of thousands of MAS employees?

 

MOHD RAFIZI RAMLI
Director of Strategy

YB WILLIAM LEONG
Treasurer and MP for Selayang

23 February 2012