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news without borders
CM denies giving
statement to MACC
by Bernard Cheah
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SEBERANG PERAI: Penang
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has
denied giving any statement to
the Malaysian Anti-Corruption
Commission (MACC) last week
in connection with the alleged
corruption of former Deputy
Chief Minister (I) Mohammad
Fairus Khairuddin.
He said the last time MACC
took a statement from him was
in his office on April 6.
MACC had closed the case
in the same month due to lack
of evidence to prosecute Fairus
for alleged involvement in illegal
quarry deals in the state.
Penang MACC director
Latifah Md Yatim on Wednesday
said her officers recorded state-
ments from Lim and several
state executive councillors last
week. She said the case against
Fairus was reopened after it ob-
tained additional documentary
evidence from the public.
Asked if the other state exco
members were called to give their
statement recently, Lim said: “The
(MACC) officers have met several
of them, but as far as I know, no
statements were taken.”
Lim questioned why MACC
had opened the case again.
Lim said Fairus was currently
in Malaysia but he had not been
in contact with him.
Earlier, Lim was in Politeknik
Seberang Perai with Deputy
Chief Minister (I) Mansor Oth-
man, state exco member Abdul
Malik Kassim and State Speaker
Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain to
observe Penang Yang di-Pertua
Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Ab-
bas distribute aid to about 200
mosque representatives in the
state for Ramadan.
The state government al-
located about RM213,000 for
the mosques to organise events
throughout the fasting month. It
is the first time the state govern-
ment gave such a contribution.
On another issue, Lim said
the meeting between Kampung
Buah Pala residents with Deputy
Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin
Yassin in Permatang Pauh on
Wednesday validates the state
government’s concerns that the
villagers have been “used” and
have a political agenda.
“He (Kampung Buah Pala
Residents Association chairman
M. Sugumaran) saw the very
same people who created the
problems. And up to now, they
have not repented or apologised
for the mess, and now you’re
seeing them.
“They say the state govern-
ment has done nothing but we
have offered them double-storey
houses with 99 year lease title,
compared to BN (state govern-
ment) which treated them as
squatters and wanted to chase
them out,” he said.
Sugumaran and several
residents handed Muhyiddin a
seven-page memorandum urg-
ing him to save their homes and
village dubbed Penang’s High
Chapparal.
In PUTRAJAYA, Minister in
the Prime Minister’s Depart-
ment Dauk Seri Mohamed Nazri
Abdul Aziz said Lim had no right
to seek MACC’s explanation on
the reopening of the case.
He said although an explana-
tion may satisfy the public, it
cannot be done because “this is
not to justify to the public, this is
to fight corruption”.
“There is a provision under
the MACC Act for secrecy of
information. Only those who
have conveyed the information
to the MACC can seek explana-
tion on the development of the
reported case.”
Muhyiddin asks Rohaizat
to issue sworn statement
BUKIT MERTAJAM: Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin wants the Ba-
risan Nasional (BN) candidate in
the by-election for the Permatang
Pasir state seat, Rohaizat Oth-
man, to make a sworn statement,
if necessary, to clarify his actual
position on the issue of the revo-
cation of his civil law licence.
The deputy prime minister
said this was to ensure that no
one would take the opportunity
to manipulate the actual situation
on the issue.
Tiger’s “Whatever it is, the important
thing is for us to give the correct
loss statement. I have informed
reminds Rohaizat that if necessary, he
us of his should give a sworn statement to
explain the real situation so that
greatness no one can manipulate the actual
pg 28 situation,” he said at a press con-
ference yesterday.
He said he was convinced
Rohaizat was not guilty and no
legal action was taken against
him in court.
In addition, Rohaizat had also
settled the funds belonging to
Koperasi Pekebun Getah Negri
Pulau Pinang Bhd amounting to
RM161,000 and the cooperative
had written a letter to the Bar
Partner hits back at Rohaizat
by Himanshu Bhatt
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
SEBERANG PERAI: The former
law-firm partner of Rohaizat
Othman, the BN candidate for the
Permatang Pasir state by-elec-
tion, yesterday alleged Rohaizat
mishandled their
client’s money about
six years ago.
Yusri Isahak, 39,
accused Rohaizat of
unduly singling him
out for blame in the
financial affair which
led to Rohaizat being
disbarred last year
by the Malaysian Bar
Council.
He said Rohaizat
had betrayed Umno
by not disclosing the
details of the allega-
tions that culminated
in the High Court on
Aug 12 dismissing
his appeal against the
decision of the Bar’s
disciplinary board.
“Maybe he had
high ambitions to be
a ‘Yang Berhormat’,”
Yusri, who was
surrounded by body-
guards, told a press
conference at a PKR
centre in Yayasan
Aman here.
“It was only
after his name was
announced as the
candidate that they
(Umno leadership)
found out about the
High Court decision,”
he added.
Yusri addresses the
press conference at the
PKR centre in Yayasan
Aman, Seberang Prai
yesterday.
Council’s disciplinary board stat-
ing that the problem had been
resolved.
“The matter has been resolved
and it should not have been
raised again, and after we have
made the clarification, let the
voters in Permatang Pasir evalu-
ate whether Rohaizat is right or
wrong,” he said.
On the various statements
issued by the Bar on the issue,
Muhyiddin said he was uncertain
what their agenda was.
“I don’t know what the agenda
of the Bar is because there is no
problem with the Election Com-
mission (EC). The Bar is rather
busy in this regard,” he said.
Muhyiddin also criticised the
Opposition which deliberately
raised the issue as though none
of their members had commit-
ted malpractices or breaches of
discipline.
He said disciplinary action
had also been taken against
candidates from the opposition
party for certain reasons but they
were allowed to contest in the
by-election and win, and yet they
were accepted by the Opposition,
reports Bernama
“And I was made the scapegoat
to show that Rohaizat was clean
and was not involved at all.”
“He did not betray me. He
betrayed Umno by not revealing
to them beforehand what had
happened.”
Asked why he had used a
Pakatan Rakyat (PR) venue to
make his statement, Yusri replied:
“When news broke out that my
name had been implicated, I had
no channel to make my clarifica-
tion. I am now considering the
goodwill of PKR and PAS to use
them as a platform during the
campaign to clarify the issue.”
Yusri explained that the con-
troversy involved a client (Kop-
erasi Pekebun Getah Negri Pulau
Pinang Bhd or Penang Rubber
Smallholders Cooperative Bhd)’s
RM320,000 loan for purchase
land. The loan was deposited into
the account of the law firm, Saif
Ariff & Rohaizat.
Of the amount, RM100,000 was
soon passed on to the cooperative.
The firm had three partners; Ro-
haizat operated the Butterworth
office, Yusri managed the office
in Ipoh, while the third partner
was based on Penang island.
The firm later used RM100,000
theSun | FRIDAY AUGUST 21 2009
In an immediate response, Bar
Council secretary George Varugh-
ese said the council was a statu-
tory body established under the
Legal Profession Act 1976 (LPA)
“for the proper management of
the affairs of the Malaysian Bar
and for the proper performance
of its functions”.
“The Bar issued a press release
titled ‘Clarification regarding
Rohaizat Othman’ on Tuesday in
response to media inquiries on
the matter. We regret Muhyid-
din’s statement implying that the
Bar had an ulterior motive in
raising the issue.
“The decision to strike
Rohaizat off the Roll of Advocates
and Solicitors was made by the
Disciplinary Board, an inde-
pendent body established under
Section 93 of the LPA. Members
of the board, which is currently
chaired by Tan Sri Khalid Ahmad
Sulaiman, are appointed by the
Chief Judge of Malaya after con-
sultation with the Bar.
“The Bar is authorised to
speak on behalf of the board on
matters relating to disciplinary
proceedings involving advocates
and solicitors,” said Varughese.
of the cooperative’s money to
lend another party for a separate
land transaction, Yusri said. This
party however failed to pay back.
The balance amount was used
for other purposes, including the
setting up of the firm’s branch in
Ipoh, he added.
Yusri did not absolve himself
of responsibility in the matter,
adding that the firm’s decisions
were made jointly.
He however stressed the
cooperative’s money was kept in
a bank account, and could only
be withdrawn by cheque. Any
withdrawal required either one of
the partner’s signature. He chal-
lenged anyone accusing him of
withdrawing the money to show
if his name was on the cheque.
Asked if he would take legal
action against Umno or Rohaizat
for singling him, he said he was
considering his options. He said
he did not renew his lawyer’s
licence in 2003 as he had become
disillusioned with the profession,
and has since stopped practising.
Meanwhile, Rohaizat declined
to comment when met by report-
ers before conducting door-to-
door campaigning in Taman
Penanti.
MASRY CHE ANI/THESUN