Raja Petra Kamarudin <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
CORRUPTION AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL
Matthias Chang
Mastek Sdn Bhd
Owned By Noor Asiah Mahmood
Supported By Pak Lah
Made Obscene Commissions
Gave Kickbacks At The Expense
Of Iraqis Suffering Under
12 Brutal Years of Sanctions
An Entire Family
In The Cesspool of Corruption
Scomi
ECM Libra
UN Oil-for-Food Programme
The Dirty Little Secret Of Pak Lah: âMr Cleanâ
Reading the headlines in the New Straits Times and the spin churned out by Pak Lahâs spin doctors, we were led to believe that Pak Lah personifies integrity and honesty.
But is Pak Lah really âclean?â
Pak Lah did launch a campaign against corruption and some patsies, politicians and businessmen who were no longer useful in his agenda were put on show trials, orchestrated to project his âTeflonâ image.
Only just recently, Mr. Clean called on Muslim countries âto step up efforts to fight corruption.â He was quoted as saying that, âthe current condition that Muslim countries find themselves in is deeply alarming and distressing. I am saddened when we consider Islamâs glorious legacy of culturally and scientifically advanced civilisations, all built on solid foundation of ethics and moral values.â
Like Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hide, Pak Lah has a façade of Cleanliness but hides a rotten core!
What do you make of a person who preaches ethics and morality to fellow Muslims but in practice commits the most blatant corrupt practices?
This is a US$800 million question.
This is the scam committed by a Malaysian company supported by our Mr. Clean, Pak Lah in the United Nations Oil-for-Food Programme.
An international correspondent described it well when he said that:
âIt was meant to be the âMother of all Humanitarian Programsâ, but has turned out to be the Father of all Scams!â
And a Malaysian company was right in the middle of this cesspool.
This is the DIRTY SECRET of Pak Lah!
READ ON.
Let me explain the Dark Side of Mr. Clean.
There are two reports on the Iraq Oil for Food scandal, namely:1) Charles Duelfer - Comprehensive Report of the Special Adviser to the Director of the Central Intelligence on Iraqâs Weapons of Mass Destruction, September 30, 2004 (the âDuelfer Reportâ in short); and2) Paul A. Volcker â Independent Enquiry Committee into The United Nations Oil-for Food Programme (Manipulation of the Oil-for-Food Programme by the Iraqi Regime) October 27, 2005 (the âVolcker Reportâ in short).Both reports have named Pak Lahâs connection to the Oil-for-Food Programme via Malaysian companies.
The relevant companies are:
1) Mastek Sdn Bhd (50717-A)
Shareholders: Obata-Ambak Holdings Sdn Bhd - 379,200 shares Noor Asiah Binti Mahmood - 100,800 shares (Sister-in-Law of Pak Lah)
2) Tradeyear Sdn Bhd (361316-K)
Shareholders: Tradeyear Ltd - 2 shares
The Volcker Report specifically named Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as a âNon-Contractual Beneficiary.â
The Report defines such a beneficiary as âThe name of the individuals and entities other than the named contracting party that were named in the Ministry of Oil records as the intended beneficiary of the oil allocation. In some instances, the named beneficiary is an official of the contracting party.â
The Volcker Report indicated that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had written a letter to Taha Yassin Ramadan on November 13, 2000 recommending a delegation headed by Mr. Faek Ahmad Shareef and Noor Asiah Mahmood (the sister-in-law of Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) for the purposes of obtaining oil allocation.
The question that needs to be asked of Pak Lah is â âWhy did you make those recommendations when the two companies referred to above were merely acting as middleman?â
Petronas, our the national oil company was already involved legitimately in the Oil-for-Food programme, and as the Volcker Report showed clearly that when the Saddam Government demanded kickbacks, Petronas refused to give kickbacks!
In the Volcker Report, it is clearly stated that a kickback of US$10,916241 were demanded of Mastek Sdn Bhd, of which US$9,803,960 were paid, leaving a balance of US$1,112,281 unpaid.
In the case of Tradeyear Sdn Bhd, the sum of US$116,870 of kickback was demanded and the amount was paid in full.
The amount of moneys involved in the transactions was staggering. We can only imagine the amount of commissions earned by Mastek Sdn Bhd, owned by Noor Asiah Mahmod, the sister-in-law of Pak Lah.
While Petronas took up only 13,276,782 barrels of oil valued at US264,111,195.00 million from an allocation of 14,100,000 barrels, the above two stated companies in comparison took the following:
Mastek Sdn Bhd: Allocated: 45,000,000 barrels of oil
Took : 43,614,685 barrels of oil
Value : US$884,919,027 million
Tradeyear Sdn Bhd: Allocated : 9,200,000 barrels of oil
Took : 9,094,996
Value : US$171,771,487 million
When we add the two values, the amount earned exceeds US$ 1 billion!!
From interviews conducted with one Mr. Jaya Sudir (August 19, 2005) the Volcker Report states that Mr. Faek Ahmad Shareef had leveraged his connection with Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. A review of Iraqi documents confirms that Iraqi officials associated Mr. Faek Ahmad Shareef with Mr. Abdullah Ahmad Badawi as references to Mr. Shareefâs oil allocation in SOMO (State Oil Marketing Organisation) documents appear in some instances as âMr. Faek Ahmad Shareef/for the benefit of Abdullah.â
In the case of Mastek Sdn Bhd, Pak Lahâs sister-in-law was directly involved in the payment of kickbacks. Pak Lah who was then the Deputy Prime Minister had admitted writing the letter of recommendation in support of the companyâs application of oil allocation under the Oil-for-Food programme. There is therefore a âconflict of interestâ when Pak Lah as the Deputy Prime Minister made the said recommendation.
Additionally, while serving as Deputy Prime Minister and without the knowledge of the then Prime Minister and or the Cabinet, Pak Lah placed himself in a situation whereby his personal as well as the governmentâs integrity have been brought into question.
What Action Must Be Taken?
In a similar situation that obtained in India, where the then foreign minister, Mr Natwar Singh was alleged to have benefited from the Oil-for-Food programme, the said minister was removed from the highest decision making body of the ruling party (the Indian Congress Party). Mr. Natwar Singh subsequently resigned from the government, notwithstanding his protests of innocence. The scandal was also alleged to have implicated Mr. Natwar Singhâs son.
It is inconceivable that Pak Lah having called upon all Muslim countries to fight corruption should be allowed to continue with his charade and to remain in office as the Prime Minister of Malaysia and President of Umno.
Pak Lah by any measure is tainted by the corrupt practice of his sister-in-law, Ms Noor Asiah Mahmood who has admitted making kickbacks in the Volcker Report.
When the scandal first broke out, Pak Lah pretended not to know anything about it. Pak Lah did not inform the government and the Malaysian people that his sister-in-law was a key figure in the scandal. It was only after the publication of the Volcker and Duelfer Reports, that he âclaimedâ that he was not involved in the scandal. In such scandals, it is often difficult to establish the money trail.
But what is important is that Pak Lah is tainted by his recommendation of his sister-in-law for the oil allocation and the kickbacks.
If it was not right for Pak Lah to approve the ECM Libra-Avenue merger because of a conflict of interest, as his son-in-law was the beneficiary, likewise it is not right for Pak Lah when he was the Deputy Prime Minister, to recommend his sister-in-law. They made obscene profits at the expense of fellow Muslims who were suffering from 12 years of brutal economic sanctions! 500,000 children died as a result of the sanctions. This is Blood Money!
We demand a Judicial Inquiry into this sordid affair!
Pak Lah must resign as President of Umno and Prime Minister of Malaysia!
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Posted by Raja Petra Kamarudin to MT-Special Reports at 9/29/2006 10:27:00 AM
