MACC Panel Advisor Robert Phang calls A-G Gani Patail a Rogue

December 31, 2010

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL  MALAYSIANS AND PEOPLE OF PEACE AND GOODWILL THE WORLD OVER. LET US WELCOME 2011 WITH HOPE AND ANTICIPATION

MACC Panel Advisor Robert Phang calls A-G Gani Patail a Rogue

by Din Merican

In his New Year Resolution Wish for all Malaysians, Tan Sri Robert Phang Miow Sin,  Panel Advisor, Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sent a sobering message to  our Prime Minster, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his government. He asked our Prime Minister to handle firmly IKIM, PERKASA and Attorney-General Gani Patail.

Phang launched a veiled yet blistering attack against these three destructive elements that threaten unity, truth and justice in our country. While many perceived IKIM’s statement on Santa Claus to be irrational, religious intolerance towards other faiths became more apparent when Prime Minister Najib’s aides directed church officials to remove crucifixes and other overt Christian symbols from being displayed at the Catholic Archbishop‘s Christmas tea party at Bukit Nanas, Kuala Lumpur which was attended by PM Najib. The whole objective of the PM’s presence to show unity and promote racial harmony, and religious tolerance (1Malaysia) was immediately erased.

Tan Sri Robert Phang

In the same press statement which was posted by Malaysia Today,Phang also took a swipe at A-G Gani Patail. Referring to a statement, made only a few days ago, by YB Salahudin Ayob, Vice President of PAS, that  Gani Patail is a “Bajingan dalam Kerajaan”, the crusader Tan Sri also called AG Gani Patail a rogue element in government and questioned the A-G‘s exercise of his prosecutorial powers which smacks of selective prosecution bordering on persecution. He said that it is frightening that the whole machinery of the A-G’s office and the MACC can be used against an innocent citizen in relation to the A-G’s treatment of Lawyer Rosli Dahlan.

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan isolated and left in the cold

I praise Phang for his press statement. It is an inspiring and brave statement. It is refreshing when someone within the establishment, like  Phang, dares to criticise what is wrong within the government. He makes it clear that his membership in the MACC Panel is not just to be a rubber stamp.  If there is one Tan Sri who has earned that honorific title, it has to be Phang.

Thus, the best I can do is to reproduce his Press Statement below. Thank you,Tan Sri Robert Phang and my best wishes to you for 2011. Our campaign for justice and national unity is far from over. In fact, it has just begun and the journey ahead is arduous and full of risks for all civil activists.

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December 29, 2010

Press Statement by Tan Sri Datuk Robert Phang Miow Sin.
Justice of Peace
Chairman – Social Care Foundation
Panel Advisor, Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC)

Make Unity, Truth and Justice as New Year Resolutions for Malaysians

On Friday December 31, 2010, we will say goodbye to 2010 and usher in 2011. Fortune tellers, astrologers and Feng Shui practitioners will review the events of  past years in self glorification of the accuracy of their predictions. They will attempt to provide new prophecies and guidance to forecast events and good fortunes for the coming year. But, they do it for commercial gains.

2. As a social activist, I would like to address the fundamentals that are of importance to us as a progressive nation. Malaysia is a country of faiths. It is stated that Islam is the official Religion of the Federation but at the same time, freedom to practise other faiths and religions is guaranteed. How we prosper as a nation cannot be based on fortune telling and guessing games, but on hard facts, sound policies and universal principles to be gathered from our faiths and religions.

3. Whether we are Muslims, Christians, Hindus, Buddhists or of any other faith, the plurality of faiths of this country must be preserved. I call on IKIM and PERKASA not to cause confusion by fanning the differences between us, but to build on the commonality that binds us. It’s a folly to claim whose religion or whose god is the right one. All religions teach good things and we all believe in ONE TRUE GOD.

Respect the Dignity of Difference as Diversity is our Strength

4. Thus, all talk that cause differences, tensions and schisms must stop. If May 13, 1969, is to be remembered, it should be commemorated as a day of mourning when this multi-cultural and multi-religious beloved country of ours was almost ruined. Thus, it must be our national resolution that May 13 must not recur or Malaysia will become a failed state. It is our commonality that binds us as a nation since Independence and that will shape our future destiny as 1Malaysians!

5. With regard to the New Key Result Areas (NKRAs) for reduction of crimes, I congratulate Home Minister Dato’ Seri Hishamuddin Tun Hussein Onn, who has worked hard and developed innovative ways to assist the PDRM in the fight against crime. I also congratulate Dato’ Seri Hishammudin for understanding the importance of public perception and thus ended the former IGP’s tenure. Compared to his predecessor, Tan Sri Ismail Omar is a breath of fresh air. Like a clean white sheet, it is now in his hands to re-shape PDRM (Royal Malaysian Police) into the principal respected law enforcement agency that it once was. We, Malaysians, must support Tan Sri Ismail Omar, the current IGP, to aspire for a crime free society.

6. As a Panel Advisor of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), I applaud the achievements of the MACC’s Chief Commissioner, Dato‘ Seri Abu Kassim, in bringing to book some big names this year. In the PKFZ case, Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik has been charged. However, the report by the forensic auditors mentioned several other big names, including those still serving in government and are also big names in their political party. These big names have quickly used the MACC’s clearance as a political mileage. This has invited public skepticism, especially when it is perceived that a thorough investigation has not been conducted and the clearance was just a political whitewash. That was what the public perceived in the case of former Selangor MB Dato‘ Seri Dr Khir Toyo until he was charged recently. I remind these big names not to be so gleeful, bordering on arrogance.

7. The public also view with grave suspicion the allegations over the personal conduct of Attorney-General (A-G) Tan Sri Gani Patail who is seen consorting with Tan Sri Tajuddin Ramli’s proxy, Shahidan Shafiee. This is of great disservice to the government in the fight against corruption. I have raised this before and the A-G‘s continued silence is deafening. PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayob has now raised the same issue. This is not just a political issue but it also concerns the integrity of the highest law officer of the country. His actions and conduct can erode the credibility of the government.

8. There is also public skepticism over the conduct of the A-G, in the exercise of his prosecutorial powers. His reluctance to act in certain cases, while very vociferous in others, have given rise to allegations of selective prosecution bordering on persecution. YB Salahudin Ayob also raised this seeming double standards involving the case of lawyer En Rosli Dahlan. En Rosli is widely known to be the lawyer handling the MAS case and has alleged that he had been victimised by rogue elements in the government. It is frightening to the citizens at large that the whole machinery of the A-G’s office and the MACC can be used against one man. The government must dispel this perception of persecution against an innocent citizen.

9. I have raised these matters without any personal or political agenda. I am not a politician. I speak for what I believe to be true and right. These are matters that have been in the public domain and it is incumbent on me to remind the powers that be of the public displeasure. Only in this way civil activists like me can be of service to the nation, the government and the public. This is consistent with the reminder by the Prime Minister Dato‘ Seri Najib Tun Razak that those in power must not suffer from the four diseases – Delusion, Amnesia, Inertia and Arrogance.

10. In closing 2010’s chapter and in welcoming 2011, I pray for God’s Blessings upon all of us and that we become a truly 1Malaysia nation in the pursuit for Unity, Truth And Justice. I wish all Malaysians a Happy and Blessed New Year!

“HUMBLENESS IS GOOD VIRTUE, ARROGANCE SHALL FALL, THE MEEK WILL RULE THE WORLD”.

Tan Sri Robert Phang Miow Sin

Justice of Peace

I also reproduce an international news article about the sham trial of former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky seen by many democratic nations of the world as a test of the rule of law in Russia. It is something for us in Malaysia to remember that we will still be regarded as a pariah state regardless  of our economic success. PM Najib should take note of all these if he is intending to call GE 13 next year. He should remove all the rogue elements in his government! Win the confidence of Malaysians and make history.

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Khodorkovsky lawyer blames Putin for client sentence–6 more Years in the Slammer

December 30, 2010

Freedom is a Universal Right

A man holds a portrait of Mikhail Khodorkovsky at a picket in support of the former oil tycoon near the court building in Moscow today, December 30, 2010. Russia accused the United States and Europe of trying to influence the trial of Khodorkovsky, calling such efforts unacceptable and warning the West to mind its own business.

MOSCOW, December 30 — The lawyer of jailed former oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky today blamed Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin for his client’s sentence of six more years in prison in a court case seen by some Western nations as a test of the rule of law in Russia.

Absolute Power corrupts Absolutely

“The sentence was clearly issued under pressure from the executive authorities, headed as before by Mr Putin,” said defence lawyer Yuri Shmidt. “Putin signaled to the court who today is the boss and who today decides Khodorkovsky’s fate and life,” he said.

A Victim of Oppressive Power: 6 more years in Jail

Moscow judge Viktor Danilkin sentenced Khodorkovsky to the additional six years in prison after convicting him on multibillion-dollar theft and money-laundering charges.

Danilkin granted the prosecutors’ sentencing request and said Khodorkovsky would serve a total of 14 years in prison, including time served since his arrest in October 2003, meaning he is to remain in jail until 2017.

Western officials had said the guilty verdict raised doubts about the Kremlin’s commitment to the rule of law and human rights, and they were closely watching the case.

The outcome of Khodorkovsky’s second trial could cause friction with Europe and strain the “reset” that has improved ties between the United States and Russia. Russia said the trial was a matter for its courts and rejected as “groundless” US suggestions that the verdict resulted from selective justice. — Reuters

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