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Probe all charges before
general assembly, say duo
by Hemananthani Sivanandam
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: Two Umno members
want the party general assembly, to be
held on March 24, postponed until all al-
legations of money politics and misuse of
power are investigated by the Malaysian
Anti- Corruption Commission (MACC) and
the Umno disciplinary board.
“The crux of the matter is simple ... we
feel that in this short time, it is impossible
for the MACC and disciplinary board to
investigate the cases. That is why we want
the assembly to be postponed,” Datuk
Mazlan Harun said yesterday.
Mazlan and Datuk Kadar Ninam
Shah also said they will file for a court
injunction to stop the general assembly
if no action is taken against their reports.
“We feel that we have a prima facie case,”
Mazlan said.
He and Kadar said “there is enough
prima facie evidence to make the leader-
ship outcome of these elections suspect
and this would damage the legitimacy
of any government formed on such a
basis”.
Mazlan, a Selangor veteran leader and
son of former Selangor mentri besar the
late Datuk Harun Idris, and Muar branch
leader Kadar, the son of the late Umno per-
manent chairman Tun Sulaiman Ninam
Shah, lodged two reports with the Kuala
Lumpur Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
office on Aug 5 and Sept 4 last year.
The reports were lodged against party
president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak, for allegedly abusing their
powers and alleged involvement in money
politics.
“To date, there has been no action on
either report. There has also not been any
apparent action on the more than 1,000
reports of political graft and other abuses
sent to Umno’s disciplinary board, as
acknowledged by its chairman, Tengku
Ahmad Rithauddeen,” Mazlan and Kadar
said in a joint statement.
They said they were extremely dis-
appointed that neither MACC nor the
Kadar (left) and Mazlan ... ‘we were not called by MACC or Umno disciplinary board for
our statements’.
disciplinary board “seem to have investi-
gated these allegations with any urgency
or seriousness”.
They also expressed disappointment
over Abdullah’s recent remark that the
MACC had closed its investigations on all
reports regarding money politics in the
party as it had found no evidence.
“How can he come to this conclusion
when neither one of us have been called
by MACC or the disciplinary board for our
statements about the reports we made. In
fact, our reports were not even acknowl-
edged,” Kadar said.
Asked how he knew the reports had not
been acknowledged, he said neither he nor
Mazlan had been called in to assist in an
investigation.
“We met the secretary-general and
showed him evidence but he blamed us.
In fact, the disciplinary board said our al-
legations are fitnah (lies),” Kadar alleged.
Mazlan and Kadar supported secre-
tary-general Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan
Mansor’s statement on Sunday said that
ANWAR FAIZ/THESUN
the party wants the MACC to investigate
all allegations and charge anyone involved
in money politics before the general as-
sembly on March 24.
According to the Umno constitution,
any member who takes party issues to
court may be suspended. Asked about this,
Mazlan said: “We have not reached the
stage to take action yet. We are only urging
the party to take this matter seriously. We
are ready to face any action taken.”
Asked why they waited this long before
coming out with their statement, he said:
“There is a reluctance on the part of the
leadership. So, this forces us to take a
formal stand, which we are entitled to as
citizens.”
The duo emphasised that their move
was not an attempt to stop the transition
of power from Abdullah to Najib.
“Our intention is not to stop the transi-
tion of power. That can happen any time.
We want to save the party. As long as the
party is weak, the government is weak,”
Mazlan said.
| WEDNESDAY MARCH 4 2009
Don’t gather at
Parliament over
Kulim shooting,
warn police
by Karen Arukesamy
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Police have issued a strict warning against
those planning to take part in a gathering at Parliament tomor-
row to hand over a memorandum on the case of six men shot
dead in Kulim.
“The public is strictly prohibited from taking part in the
gathering as the organisers have not applied for a police
permit. It is an illegal gathering,” Kuala Lumpur police chief
Datuk Muhammad Sabtu Osman said at a press conference
at the police headquarters yesterday.
He said police had learned through an SMS that the gather-
ing would take place between 10 and 11 in the morning on
the Parliament grounds.
“The gathering is illegal not just because the organisers
have not obtained a permit but also because Parliament is a
prohibited area for the public as it would cause unnecessary
disturbance to the proceedings and traffic congestion,” Sabtu
said.
The gathering may also cause tension and risks for the
public’s safety.
He said police will set up tight security around the Parlia-
ment premises.
“There will be blockades set up at all routes leading to the
Parliament from early morning and the police will not allow
any unauthorised persons to pass, except the Parliament staff,
the MPs and their own people,” he said.
Even the MPs’ vehicles will be checked and they must
give the names of the personnel accompanying them to
Parliament.
Sabtu said the riot police will be on standby in case the
situation were to get out of control.
He warned that action will be taken under Section 27 of the
Police Act 1967 against those who defy the police or ignore
their advice not to assemble at the Parliament tomorrow
morning.
It is understood that the memorandum is to express
dissatisfaction over the death of the six alleged armed
robbers and the detention of four women, all aged
between 20 and 50, following a shootout at a house in
Kampung Kemunting, Karangan in Kulim involving a Bukit
Aman police team.
The group was reported to have been involved in a series
of armed robberies on goldsmiths’ shops in Kedah, Penang,
Perak and Selangor.
In a separate incident here at midnight on Monday, a police
officer dining at a restaurant in Masjid India was attacked by
a group of six to eight men.
Sabtu said the group barged into the restaurant and started
to shout at the officer. One of them took a parang from the
restaurant and started to chase the officer.
The officer shot the man in the left thigh. Passers-by helped
the officer to catch the man and one of his friends. The injured
ma n is being treated at Kuala Lumpur General Hospital.