2 theSun | WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 4 2009

news without borders

IN Asri: My
mistake
INTERVIEWS VIEWS
was in
TOMORROW! inviting Appointed …
(from left) Lim,
Muslims Tan and Chua
to think
pg 4

Ong sacks four

There is good law and bad
law, and it is quite misleading
to say that because something is
stated in a law, it must be followed.
We must do a test to see whether
the law is just.”
– Edmund Bon,
Chairman of the Bar Council’s
Constitutional Law Committee
Datuk under MACC
probe goes missing
by Tim Leonard
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
PETALING JAYA: A businessman under probe by
the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)
for a multi-million ringgit corruption case has gone
missing.
The businessman, who holds a Datukship and
has strong political connections, is believed to have
fled the country when he learnt that he was to be
arrested and produced in court last week.
A senior MACC official told theSun the probe
was initiated almost a year ago and it involved of-
ficers from the investigations department and the
commission’s Anti-Money Laundering unit.
“Based on initial investigations, the suspect had
worked closely with bank employees to carry out
the corrupt practices,” said the official.
The official also revealed that a few others are
expected to be detained in connection with the
case. But the official declined to comment if those
involved included politicians.
Based on information received by theSun, the
sum involved is close to RM10 million, making it one
of the biggest corruption cases in the country.
MACC got a big break in the case when a bank
employee spilled the beans on the modus operandi
and those responsible for manipulating the financial
system through corrupt practices.
The MACC is seeking the Interpol’s help to locate
the Datuk.
MCA CC ‘dissidents’
by Giam Say Khoon
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
KUALA LUMPUR: Four MCA president-ap-
pointed central committee (CC) members
who opposed the Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat-
Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek’s Greater Unity
Plan (GUP) were sacked yesterday.
The four, all aligned to the CC-appointed
deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong
Lai, are organising secretary Yoo Wei How,
Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Chor Chee
Heung, Datuk Chai Kim Sen and Gan Hong
Su.
In place, Ong has appointed Chua’s son
and Labis MP Tee Yong, Petaling Jaya Selatan
MCA chief Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai and
former Perak assemblyman Tan Chin Meng
as CC members.
Following a letter yesterday morning from
the Registrar of Societies (ROS), ruling that
Chua was still the legitimate deputy president
after the outcome of the Oct 10 extraordinary
general meeting (EGM), Liow now reverts to
his position as vice-president.
The 2,307 delegates to the EGM had
passed a motion of no confidence against
Ong with a 14-vote majority while rejecting
Chua as deputy president with a 74-vote
majority.
However, the party constitution states
that elected central leaders can only be re-
moved from office in an EGM by two-thirds
of the central delegates.
In a press conference, Chor said he and
three others received termination letters
for unknown reasons in the morning when
Sacked … they were preparing to attend the 1pm CC
(from top) meeting.
Gan, Chor, “He (Ong) has appointed three new
Chai and members to fill the vacancies. On one hand,
Yoo he (Ong) talks about unity, on the other
hand, he is getting rid of those who oppose
his views.
“We feel it’s revenge for supporting
the requisitioning of another EGM. We are
only sacked because we are appointed CC
members,” said Chor.
“The wellbeing of the party is of para-
mount importance. Position in the party is
secondary to all of us.
“I have the most to lose as I was an ap-
pointed CC member and I am also a deputy
finance minister. But for the good and image
of the party, I have no choice,” he said.
Chor said Ong had not shed his lone-
ranger style and “he still acts unilaterally
without much consultation”.
He said the best way to resolve the
crisis was through fresh elections as who
ever wins in the election must be given the
mandate to lead.
Ong, in a press conference, defended
his action to remove the four, saying it was
unfair to say that (they were sacked) “as it
was just a reshuffle in the CC”.
“The CC acknowledged their contribution
to the party but we need to include more
leaders from the grassroots,” he said, add-
ing that the decision was part of the annual
review of their appointments.
Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha was the only
vice-president who was present at the press
conference. The other vice-presidents are
Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen, who is abroad, Tan
Kok Hong, Liow, Youth chief Datuk Dr Wee
Ka Siong and Women chief Datin Paduka
Chew Mei Fun.
Ong also announced the appointment
of Lim Hong Sang as the new legal bureau
chief to replace Datuk Leong Tang Chong.
He also said Deputy Information, Com-
munications and Culture Minister Senator
Heng Seai Kie is replacing Lee Wei Kiat as
the new information and communication
bureau chief.
He said the post of party organising
secretary will be filled soon.
In a separate press conference, Liow said
he reserved his right to seek court declara-
tion on his status as deputy president.
He stressed that Article 174 of the party
constitution had allowed the CC to interpret
the outcome of the Oct 10 EGM and in the
subsequent CC meeting, it had elected him
as the new deputy president.
“Section 18(C) of the Societies Act disal-
lows the ROS from interfering with party
decisions. It (ROS’s decision) is not in ac-
cordance with the party constitution.”
Liow, who was flanked by Wee and
Chew, said some of the CC members were
shocked with the president’s decision to
sack the four appointed CC members.
“The unity plan should be inclusive
of everybody but four CC members had
become the victims even before the plan
can be implemented.
“The president was not sincere to re-
solve the crisis and the Greater Unity Plan
is not a plan to reunite the party but a plan
to eliminate his political rivals,” he said.
Liow also lamented that Ong had “in-
sulted” him when the president told the
press on Monday that he was among the
few MCA cabinet ministers and deputy min-
isters who were briefed about the plan.
He reiterated that he was not told about
the contents of the plan.
Meanwhile, reinstated deputy president
Chua said the removal of the CC members
was the prerogative of the president.
“It is a traditional practice to review the
appointments of the CC members because
it is clear that the tenure for appointed CC
and presidential council members is only
for a year,” he said when met after the CC
meeting.
“I had never complained when my men
were removed and they (the four sacked
CC members) should never complain about
it. I respect the decision of the president,”
he added.

Hu Jintao, Susilo to visit 2014. Susilo will be accorded a state

Malaysia next week
PUTRAJAYA: President Hu Jintao of
China and President Susilo Bambang
Yudhoyono of Indonesia are scheduled
to visit Malaysia next week, Foreign
Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman said
yesterday.
He said Hu will be here on Nov 10
and 11 to reciprocate the state visits to
China by Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Syed
Putra Jamalullail in 2005, when he was
the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, and Yang
di-Pertuan Agong Tuanku Mizan Zainal
Abidin who had attended the official
opening of the Beijing Olympics in
August last year.
Hu will be accompanied by his wife
Liu Yongqing, a 140-member delega-
tion and 80 journalists.
Anifah said Susilo will begin a two-
day visit to Malaysia on Nov 11, his
first visit abroad after having taken his
oath of office as the Indonesian presi-
dent for a second term, from 2009 to
welcome at Parliament Square, have
an audience with Tuanku Mizan and
hold talks with Najib. – Bernama
Malaysia invited
to rebuild Iraq
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia has been
invited to rebuild war-torn Iraq and
assist in ensuring the people of Iraq
enjoy a normal life again, Foreign
Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman
said here yesterday.
Speaking at a joint press
conference with Turkish Foreign
Minister Prof Dr Ahmet Davutoglu,
Anifah said Iraq had invited not
only Malaysia but also Turkey to
help rebuild the country, which
was heavily bombarded by Allied
forces in the ouster of former Iraqi
president Saddam Hussein.
“We feel that maybe it is beneficial
for us (Malaysia and Turkey) to work
together in this venture, creating
ample business opportunities along
the way. Furthermore, both Malaysia
and Turkey have a special relation-
ship with Iraq,” he said. – Bernama
Anwar apologises for
weaknesses in PKR
KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Keadilan Rak-
yat adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
adopted an apologetic tone yesterday
in admitting there were “some flaws”
in its candidates, referring to Port
Klang assemblyman Badrul Hisham
Abdullah who quit PKR to be a Barisan
Nasional-friendly representative.
“We admit there are some flaws
in our candidates. We admit that the
selection process before March 8
was different. We admit that in that
situation there were candidates who
were chosen and did not show worthy
performance and qualifications,” he
told reporters at Parliament lobby.
However, Anwar said with this expe-
rience, Pakatan Rakyat is taking note of
the performance of all its representa-
tives. “I have warned all state assembly
representatives and MPs, whose per-
formance are not up to the mark, that
they will be replaced,” he said.
Datuk Wahid’s graft
case postponed again
KUALA LUMPUR: The hearing of a
corruption case involving former
Immigration director-general Datuk
Wahid Md Don was postponed
again yesterday.
Sessions court judge Rosbia-
hanin Ariffin postponed the hearing
to Dec 2 after being informed that
defence counsel Datuk V. Sitham-
baram was on sick leave.
Wahid, 56, is alleged to have re-
ceived RM60,000 from businessman
Datuk Low Chang Hian to speed up
the approval of visas for 4,337 Bang-
ladeshi workers at his house at Jalan
Lembah Ledang, Jalan Duta, at about
10.15 on July 10, 2007. – Bernama
PM meets ministers on
Friday to gauge KPIs
SHAH ALAM: Datuk Seri Najib Razak
will meet all the cabinet ministers on
Friday to gauge the performance of
their respective ministries based on
the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
and National Key Result Areas (NKRA).
Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri
Muhyiddin Yassin said it was in line
with the firm commitment of the prime
minister to change the quality of life of
the people in the country by raising the
effectiveness of the government since
assuming the premiership in April.
“We can’t play around, (we) must
be serious. We want to prove that
no matter what the situation is, the
Barisan Nasional (BN) is a party that is
more credible, capable in resolving (the
problems of the people) and helping
to champion the cause of the people,”
he said at a gathering with the deputy
prime minister at the Senior Citizens’
Club, here. – Bernama