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98% say ‘no’ to corrupt leaders holding top govt posts

by Hemananthani Sivanandam
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: A whopping 98% of
the people will not accept politicians
involved in corruption holding a senior
government post.
This was the finding of the Merdeka
Centre for Opinion Research from a
voter survey conducted between
Dec 26, 2008 and Jan 2. The survey
interviewed 1,018 randomly selected
registered voters via telephone.
Transparency International Malay-
sia president Tan Sri Ramon V. Navar-
atnam said the findings confirmed TI-
Malaysia’s perception that corruption
is widespread in the country.
“This is borne out by the CPI (Cor-
ruption Perception Index) among other
countries. Although the government
has taken considerable steps to fight
corruption, the negative perceptions
will continue for several reasons,” he
said.
Malaysia’s ranking on the CPI
declined to 47 out of 180 countries
in 2008, compared with 36 out of 91
countries in 2001 and 43 out of 179
countries in 2007.
Ramon said perceptions are hard
to change in the short term, and public
perception is that all measures have so
far not been able to focus on the major
culprits (perpetrators of corruption).
“The Merdeka survey hits the nail
on the head and dismisses allegations
that the CPI is not accurate enough.
Unless more big fishes are caught, the
perception will continue.”
The survey also asked respondents
for their views on the newly formed
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commis-
sion (MACC) to replace the Anti-Cor-
ruption Agency (ACA). However, 57%
of the Chinese and 50% of the Indian
respondents said they are not confi-
dent of the commission.
Navaratnam said it is too soon to
make a decision as the commission is
in its early days. However, he urged the
MACC to show it is different from ACA
within the first 100 days.
“I urge the MACC to go to the root
of all evil and charge and convict some
big fish in order to show the difference,
or else the public will regard MACC as
‘old hat’ and this is most unfortunate
because opportunity given to MACC
will be lost,” he said.
Navaratnam said he was confident
of better results and performance
from the MACC.
The survey also revealed that peo-
ple will not accept politicians involved
in sex scandals appointed to senior
government positions. About 72% of
the respondents said they would not
approve of leaders whose career has
been tainted by such controversies.

Samy gives MIED CEO

show cause notice again
KUALA LUMPUR: Maju Institute of
Education Development (MIED) chief
executive officer P. Chitrakala Vasu
has been issued a show cause notice
by MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy
Vellu.
The notice, which should be re-
plied within 14 days, is for Chitrakala
to explain on some discrepancies in
the accounts of MIED, which runs the
party’s Asian Institute of Medicine,
Science and Technology (AIMST) in
Semeling, Kedah through a subsidi-
ary company, MIED Capital Sdn Bhd.
“Yes, I received the notice a few
days ago and am currently prepar-
ing a letter to explain the whole
accounts procedure. Actually, this is
not the first time he (Samy Vellu) has
given me such a notice.
“He issued about seven notices
against me dated Dec 31, 2008 and
at that time I was only given a day to
reply. I replied to all the seven notices
on Jan 2. This second round is only
one notice, which I received on Jan
29. I will reply this within 14 days,”
she said yesterday.
Breaking her silence since the
fiasco erupted late December,
Chitrakala said after she replied the
seven show-cause notices, she was
“advised” by Samy Vellu to go on
leave . Asked whether the notices
pertained to MIED accounts, she said
it was not only on the book-keeping
but also “the whole thing”.
“I think he (Samy Vellu) wants me
out of MIED. I have been with the
MIED for 14 years. It is like a fault
finding mission.”
She said that there was nothing
for her to hide as everything which
she undertook during her tenure as
MIED CEO was based on instructions
from Samy Vellu, who is the chair-
man of MIED.
MIED, the party’s education arm,
has been mired in controversy after
it was found that the cost of AIMST,
which opened its doors two years
ago, had ballooned from an early
estimate of RM230 million to over
RM500 million.
Late last month, Tan Sri M. Mahal-
ingam, a signatory of MIED cheques,
was removed as MIC treasurer-
general by Samy Vellu, who said the
move was part of MIC’s rebranding
exercise.
The party had, last month, ap-
pointed a three-member independ-
ent panel of lawyers to investigate
the financial woes of the MIED and
the reason for the increase in costs.
The panel was also entrusted
with the task of reviewing all MIED
contracts given out for the construc-
tion and maintenance of AIMST.
There had been news reports that
some irregularities had taken place
with regard to the awarding of the
contracts.
Last week, the saga took an unex-
pected turn after MIC vice-president
and MIED director Datuk S. Sothina-
than lodged two police reports over
missing files belonging to MIED. The
reports alleged that files pertaining
to the AIMST contracts were missing
from the party headquarters in Jalan
Rahmat, off Jalan Ipoh. – Bernama
Pak Lah: Implement
stimulus plans now
PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Ab- “That we can plan for. We hance national resilience and
dullah Ahmad Badawi wants all can put our plans in place and cushion the economy from the
plans for the economic stimulus decide how we want go about it impact of the global economic
packages to be implemented and we can also fix the alloca- meltdown.
immediately for the good of the tions for the purpose,” he said Najib was reported to have
people. at the monthly assembly of the said recently that a second
The prime minister said yes- Prime Minister’s Department. stimulus package would be
terday the first stimulus package On Nov 4, Deputy Prime launched soon to ensure that
and yet-to-be-announced second Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun the country was not caught in a
package are efforts to stimulate Razak, who is also finance serious recession resulting from
the economy to cushion the minister, announced a RM7 the increasingly gloomy global
effects of the global economic billion stimulus package to economic outlook.
Abdullah meltdown. strengthen the economy, en- Meanwhile, Abdullah again
speaks at his They are also preparations rapped civil servants over delays
department’s to face the coming onslaught in the extension of government
monthly and ensure the country’s contracts given to companies.
assembly economy is in good shape, “When it’s time for extension
in Putrajaya he said. (of the contract), the company
yesterday, “That’s our hope. We holding the contract expects to
while Najib cannot predict what’s go- collect quick payment. So if we
and Chief ing to happen but we can delay, the company will face
Secretary prepare ourselves for any problems. The work goes on,
to the even- it doesn’t mean that when the
Government tual- contract ends, everything stops,”
Tan Sri Mohd ity. he said.
Sidek Hasan He said when payment was
look on. delayed, the affected parties
would complain and
this would cause
ill feelings and
make things
difficult.
Abdullah
said he was
happy with im-
BERNAMAPIX

provements in
the efficiency
of the civil
service but
w a r n e d
a g a i n s t
complacence.
– Bernama

briefs
Beware of bogus sales
agents, teachers warned
KUALA LUMPUR: The National Union of
the Teaching Profession (NUTP) has cau-
tioned teachers to beware of unscrupulous
sales agents who use the union’s name to
promote their products in schools.
Its secretary-general, Loke Yim Pheng,
said yesterday the union had neither
appointed any sales agent nor peddled
anything in schools.
She said the NUTP had advised teach-
ers not to fall prey to sales gimmicks and
report such agents to the school authori-
ties or the union.
However, she said the NUTP had no
knowledge of teachers being involved in
such schemes.
Last week, Cuepacs disclosed that
more than 50,000 civil servants were
involved in get-rich-quick schemes.
According to Cuepacs secretary-gen-
eral Ahmad Shah Mohd Zin, the situation
was so serious that it prompted the
government to issue a special service
circular to ban such schemes in govern-
ment departments.
The Education Ministry’s director-
general, Datuk Alimuddin Mohd Dom,
on Monday confirmed that the ministry
had yet to receive reports of teachers
involved in such schemes. – Bernama
Goldsmith ordered to
pay for client’s bangle
KUALA TERENGGANU: The owner
of a goldsmith shop was ordered to
pay RM3,040 to a client whose gold
bangle that was sent for repair, had
gone missing, purportedly stolen by
a worker from the shop.
Bizaimi Bidin was ordered to pay
RM3,040 as compensation to Zaini Ju-
soh, a shop assistant at a restaurant,
by the Consumer Claims Tribunal.
Tribunal president Ahmad Hisham
Kamaruddin said since the bangle
was in Bizaimi’s possession when it
was lost, he was responsible, as the
missing employee had worked for
him.
He ordered the payment to be set-
tled within two months. – Bernama
10 years’ jail, rotan for
drug possession
SHAH ALAM: An Indonesian was sen-
tenced to 10 years’ jail and 10 strokes
of the rotan by the High Court yesterday
for drug possession while his compatriot
had the charge against him withdrawn.
Muhammad Fajri Rusli, 31, pleaded
guilty to possessing 3.84gm of metham-
phetamine at the Rawang railway station
at 9.30pm on July 22, 2007.
His compatriot, Antony Afan, 30,
was acquitted and discharged after
the prosecution withdrew the charge.
– Bernama