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Corruption Close to Khalid Puts the Issue Back Under the Spotlight Posted: 29 Jun 2013 02:06 PM PDT  Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri was jailed two years and will receive two strokes of the rotan for cheating the president of Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Bhd, Datuk Abdul Karim Munisar, over the sale of bogus charity sponsorships five years ago. Yahya had sold event packages valued at RM50,000 on behalf of Pakatan Rakyat. He had been cleared of these charges following a trial back in 2011 but was found guilty at this second trial in which 28 prosecution witnesses – including Khalid – gave evidence. While Yahya remains a free man pending appeal, the case is a reminder that our corruption fighting apparatus works. The Government vowed to use it to net "big fish" and that description is well-suited to Yahya – a man who was at the heart of the Selangor administration. It also brings the issue of corruption back into the limelight in the wake of GE13. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has spoken much of corruption since GE13 in the self-serving context of trying to prove that he, not BN, won the poll. Few on his own side of politics have taken his claims seriously. In contrast to Anwar's wild claims, this case is a reminder of how real corruption is exposed and then dealt with before the courts. Before GE13, both sides said much about how they would tackle corruption. BN pointed to the empowerment and increasing success rate of the MACC while Pakatan Rakyat vowed to set up a new Governmental body to oversee the MACC, which would have brought with it the risk of undermining its independence. At one stage, PKR founding member Dr Chandra Muzaffar intervened to caution voters that Pakatan's record of dodgy land deals at state level was proof it holds no advantage over BN when it comes to this thorny issue. BN also pointed to the recommendations of the Parliamentary Special Committee on Corruption that were accepted in January, which gave the MACC and the courts broader powers to crack down on graft. Once the legislation is passed investigators will, for example, be allowed to probe any public official "living beyond their means". Suddenly the new condo or car doesn't look so easy to conceal. The Committee also recommended a "corporate liability" clause to make companies accountable for their graft of their employees and a "cooling off period" to stop former elected officials benefiting from positions in the corporate world as soon as they leave public office. The Government is serious about corruption and that means netting the big fish. Yahya is living proof that this strategy is working. |
Jonker Walk panel slams DAP as being hypocritical Posted: 29 Jun 2013 09:44 AM PDT  Malacca DAP leaders had criticised the setting up of Jonker Walk then, saying that it would cause a traffic bottleneck here besides jeopardising its historical status, said Jonker Walk committee deputy chairman Datuk Gan Tian Loo. Gan accused DAP now of "feigning sympathy" for the affected traders of Jonker Walk, where the state authorities are currently allowing traffic to pass through during weekends in a bid to ease congestion. The Jonker Walk night market is open from Fridays to Saturdays. It became a controversy of late when the state government announced that traffic would now be allowed to pass through the area in a move to ease traffic snarls. Traders were upset with the plan and DAP had announced its intention to "save" Jonker Walk. In an interview, Gan said DAP had once alleged that the Jonker Walk committee had obtained permission to set up the night market due to its close rapport with then Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam. "At one point, the Opposition alleged that the traders at the site were arrogant because the Jonker Walk had been a success story," he said. Gan said state DAP leaders had often appeared in vernacular newspapers back then, pressing for the closure of Jonker Walk. "Today, we see them going around condemning the committee members of being afraid to stand up for the traders. Actually, we have been bringing up the matter with the state government since the decision was made to reopen the road for traffic." Gan said his father Datuk Gan Boon Leong, the founder of Jonker Walk, was heckled by a handful of traders who took sides with DAP leaders when he made a walkabout on Friday. "My dad hatched the idea of opening Jonker Walk to help people who had no stable monthly income back then," he said. However, he said the older traders knew how the Opposition had reacted when Jonker Walk first started. Gan admitted that there was a "stalemate" in a meeting with the Chief Minister Datuk Idris Haron to rescind a decision to allow traffic into Jonker Walk. "The committee will try to meet him again to ask him to look into the predicament of the traders," he said. Kota Melaka MP and former state DAP chairman Sim Tong Him admitted that his party leaders had initially opposed the setting up of Jonker Walk. "It is an old story. Today we are here to give support to the affected traders," he said. "Our intention is to state that Jonker Walk is a famous tourist spot and the chief minister should check the facts before coming to a decision," he said. He said DAP had protested against Jonker Walk when it opened in 2000 because the project would cause inconveniences to the residents then due to the road closure. "It is a different scenario then and now," he added. |
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