S Pathmawathy
Ironically, the officer – MACC investigation division deputy commission Azmi Mohd – did so at a forum organised by graft watchdog Transparency International-Malaysia (TI-M) to discuss corruption in forest management and sustainable development.A senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officer yesterday refused to comment on the status of its investigations into graft allegations against Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Asked by Malaysiakini about the status of MACC’s investigation against Taib during the question-and-answer session of the public forum, Azmi appeared taken aback and said he had informed the forum organisers that he would not take questions that were “too detailed”.
“I told the organisers that I will not be answering certain questions, and these are questions I will not be able to answer,” he said.
Azmi added he was not the “right person” to address the issue, but nodded when asked if Taib was still being investigated by MACC.In June, MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed confirmed that the commission was digging into corruption allegations against the Sarawak chief minister, in particular involving logging concessions in the state.
No comment on fall in ranking as well
Azmi was also asked to comment on Malaysia’s progressive slide in the Transparency International’s corruption perception index (CPI).
This year, Malaysia is down four places to 60 out of 178 countries – its worst ranking in a decade.
Again, Azmi said he was not the “right person” to speak on the matter.
TI, which conducts the survey annually, attributed the decline to the government’s failure to tackle “grand corruption”.
Two days ago, international NGOs from six countries sent a letterto MACC, the Attorney-General’s Chamber and the inspector-general of police demanding that Taib and 13 of his family members be arrested.
The group, including the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF), Greenpeace and forest watch organisation Fern, in a 10-page letter listed out a litany of allegations involving misappropriation of public funds, abuse of public office, misappropriation of state land and fraud, among others, against Taib and his family.
According to BMF, Taib and his immediate family members have a stake in 332 Malaysian and 85 foreign companies, in all worth several billion US dollars.
The NGOs have also claimed that the known family stake in the net assets of 14 large Malaysian companies alone exceeds US$1.46 billion (RM4.65 billion).
- Hornbill Unleashed
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