Call for re-opening of the case of scandal involving Rafidah in connection with the allocation of millions of bumiputra-reserved shares to her son-in-law in her capacity as Chairperson of MITI Bumiputra Shares Allocation Committee

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Media Conference Statement
by Lim Kit Siang  
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(Parliament, Wednesday): Yesterday, during question time,  the Minister for International Trade and Industry, Datuk Paduka Rafidah Aziz evaded  all six of my supplementary questions.

I had asked in particular whether the 1997 decision to give APs to MPs, when for 27 years from 1970 to 1997 MPs were not entitled to APs, were meant to silence MPs in connection with the corruption scandal involving Rafidah  concerning the MITI allocation of 1.5 million Leader Universal Holdings Bhd. shares and 4.1 million FACB shares to her son-in-law Fazrin Azwar.

Although Rafidah said the decision to give APs to MPs was a Cabinet decision, which had been contradicted by the former Prime Minister Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad who had said that he did not know that MPs had been given APs, the pertinent questions are: who had brought the ‘APs for MPs’ issue to Cabinet, what was the rationale for this decision, and as  Dr. Mahathir said he knew nothing about this decision, how was this matter and decision smuggled into the Cabinet.

In my supplementary question, I had referred to the finding   in 1995  by the then head of the Prosecution Department in the Attorney-General’s Chambers, Gani Patail, who is now the Attorney-General, that there is prima facie basis for the arrest and prosecution of Rafidah on five counts of corruption under Section 2(2) Ordinance 22, 1970.

Parti Keadilan Rakyat youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor was convicted under the Official Secrets Act and served jail sentence for possession of the document certififying that Gani Patail had made such a recommendation to prosecute Rafidah for corruption, which is another proof of the veracity of such a document.

In view of the latest developments in the AP scandal, I call for the  re-opening of the case of the scandal involving Rafidah in connection with the allocation of millions of bumiputra-reserved shares to her son-in-law in her capacity as Chairperson of MITI Bumiputra Shares Allocation Committee, based on the 1995 recomemndation of the head of the prosecution of the Attorney-General’s Chambers for the prosecution of Rafidah.

Former Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, had publicly said that he had saved Rafidah three times.  Let Mahathir or Rafidah say whether this is one of the three times in which Rafidah was saved by the former Prime Minister, and what were the other two occasions.

I want to reiterate what I  said in Parliament last  evening during my interruption of the speech by Bung Moktar Radin (BN – Kinabatangan), when  I wished Rafidah a good knee operation and speedy recovery in her month’s medical leave. I pointed out however that one month is a very long time at this critical juncture for MITI, with so many problems awaiting satisfactory handling.

I call on  the Prime Minister to  appoint a strong Acting Minister for International Trade and Industry who could come to Parliament regularly to personally respond to MPs’ concerns about the multitude of problems faced by MITI – including calling up files and resolving outstanding issues.

This is because her answers in Parliament yesterday was basically a “wash-out”, evading all the pertinent questions, in particular had failed to explain why she created three “AP King of Kings”, Tan Sri Nasimuddin SM Amin, Datuk Syed Azman Syed Ibrahim and Datuk Mohd Haniff Abdul Aziz – who were collectively issued 33,218 APs or 50.1% of total AP allocation for 2004 and 28,283 APs or 41% of total AP allocation for 2005.

Just before my interruption of Bung Moktar’s speech yesterday, the MP for Gua Musang Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah entered the Chamber and followed the debate. I pointed at him and said that the Prime Minister could also appoint Razaleigh as Acting Minister for International Trade and Industry. Razaleigh was in fact the Minister of International Trade and Industry until he was replaced by Rafidah – after Razaleigh lost out in that fateful 43-vote defeat to Dr. Mahathir Mohamad in the contest for the UMNO President’s post in 1987.

The Prime Minister should give serious consideration to bring Razaleigh back into the Cabinet.