YOURSAY | MACC’s inaction – a case of silence and hope it will go away?

YOURSAY | ‘Corrupt practices and their institutional protection have evolved into a fine art.’

Don resigns from MACC panel in protest of inaction against Azam Baki

MS: Malaysian maladministration, a term which includes authorised corruption, has a number of defensive weapons, chief among which is "buat bodoh". This explains the refusal to respond to Professor Edmund Terence Gomez’s letters.

The next weapon is the invocation of race and religion, followed by the usual noise-making on Friday afternoons, often before the house of the one asking the questions.

The PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) will then be unleashed to "investigate" the person asking the questions and that will include raiding the home of the questioner and seizing laptops and documents.

Then, of course, there will be the mandatory invitations to be present at odd hours of the day at the ‘balai’ (police station) for interviews which could stretch on for hours on end.

By this time, the accused would have gotten enough support from his backers and co-conspirators, which in this case will include members of the oversight committee who will declare their utmost confidence in the accused and their suspicions about Gomez's motives.

Corrupt practices and their institutional protection in Malaysia have both evolved into a fine art with much practice. It is the singular achievement of the Ketuanan Melayu-driven New Economic Policy (NEP).

Newday: It is disappointing that it has come to this with Gomez resigning from the MACC Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel. He is one of the increasingly rare breeds who are honest, ethically professional and not beholden to the political will of others.

There is an obvious case to investigate MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki. On the surface (from news reports), it appears that there is indeed something dodgy going on.

The apparent silence from the panel chair is such a standard thing here that usually happens when there appears to be a measure of guilt or something is seriously wrong. “Don’t talk, don’t respond and don’t act” is the modus operandi.

What now? Is it a case of the puppet PM to step up and demand an investigation? To actually be like a PM rather than a mud shoveller? Or is it a case of silence and hope the issue will go away?

Meanwhile, we still have a MACC chief with lingering questions as to his ability and impartiality to carry out this most important job.

Mazilamani: Gomez's resignation as a member of MACC's Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel is a sign of a man living up to his intrinsic values and reputation.

The professor did everything within his means to have the panel chairperson convene a meeting to discuss a critical issue regarding Azam's alleged share ownership with Gets Global Bhd, said to be far in excess of RM100,000 share value permitted by a civil servant.

It appears strange that the panel chairperson, Borhan Dolah, has not acted on the written complaints.

I am wondering how many high-ranking civil servants own huge amounts of listed companies' shares and other questionable sources of money. How rampant is "unhalal" richness among civil servants?

This is an area for MACC to address, but what if their own officers are suspected of such "pagar makan sawah" offences.

Why should anyone write or complain to MACC about someone engaged or gaining from corrupt practices? What are the chances of complainants not getting exposed or coming into life-threatening harm?

Jordan Tan: "All I can say is that my life in the bank (Bank Negara Malaysia) has been based on certain professional expectations, and when I find myself put in circumstances where those expectations can no longer be met, there could have been no other decision for me."

These were the words of former deputy bank Negara governor, Sukhdave Singh, when he chose to resign from his office in December 2017.

Gone are the days when we had courageous personalities like Mohamed Suffian Hashim or Ismail Mohd Ali, the first governor of Bank Negara, who dared to stand up to the executive of the day.

Edmund Terence Gomez, my salute to you for your integrity and uprightness over a position.

Headhunter: When the heads of Malaysia’s anti-corruption authority are themselves are mired in allegations of corruption, how can the public trust them to handle others who are involved in corruption?

I have said before that the MACC needs a total overhaul with new and untainted senior officers. The current batch had already been exposed publicly as unreliable as they are allegedly in the thick of wallowing in corruption themselves.

The politicians don't dare to touch them because the agency holds power over them too, especially if they are involved in corruption.

It appears that not one government agency in the country is clean.

Meerkat: A top government officer being corrupt is like a vegan tucking into a juicy steak. Or a man of faith declaring there is no God.

It's either impossible or the person was a fraud, to begin with. It would be funny had it not been a reflection of the government of the day.

Where are the reforms promised in the MOU (memorandum of understanding) with the opposition? The government has already torn up the agreement.

Wake up, Pakatan Harapan. Do what you have to do or the people will assume that you would do the same thing once you’re in government.

OCT: If Azam is ever investigated, the house of cards could tumble. So expect the government to be in silent mode and ‘buat tak tahu’.

When has the rakyat ever seen any senior officer of the government being prosecuted, except for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak? But even then, Najib still acts like a free man even though he is a convicted felon.

Malaysia is a wonderful place to live in when you are part of a band of brothers. Corruption is the norm of the day.

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