What are the point of Najib warning BN leaders to learn a lesson from the Chua Soi Lek affair when they are rewarded rather than punished for their transgressions?
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Press Statement (2)
by Lim Guan Eng
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(Petaling Jaya,
Friday):
DAP questions the sincerity
of Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
warning BN leaders to learn a
lesson from the Chua Soi Lek
affair when these leaders are
rewarded rather than punished
for their transgressions
unless they are caught naked
with their pants down on
tape. Chua had no choice but
to resign after he was
clearly set up and victimized
by the internal political
struggle within MCA.
Unless there is evidence
similar to Chua, would there
be any action taken against
misbehaving BN leaders who
would always deny and
disclaim responsibility for
their actions just to cling
on to power? No one should
make any moral judgments of
personal indiscretions which
should be a private matter as
it involves betrayal of trust
amongst family members.
DAP is interested, not in
moral standards of private
behavior, but in ethical
standards of public behavior
especially when betrayal of
public trust is involved. In
this respect why was no
action taken against UMNO MPs
who openly admitted abusing
their position for private
benefit such as the “close
one-eyed” Jasin MP Mohd Said
Yusof or making inexcusable
derogatory comments of
“bocor” against women?
Worse UMNO has rewarded
criminals convicted of
criminal breach of trust with
high public positions and
Datukships such as Datuk
Hasnoor Sidang Husin who is a
director of the Melaka
Bumiputra Entreprenuers
division under the Melaka
Chief Minister and was
awarded his Datukship by the
Melaka state government two
months ago. There are even
photographs of misbehaving
wakil rakyat but yet no
action is taken.
In the same vein, why is no
action taken against
Transport Minister Datuk Chan
Kong Choy over the RM 4.6
billion Port Klang Free Trade
Zone (PKFTZ) scandal. Chan
had exceeded his Ministerial
powers in signing financial
undertakings giving
government guarantees to the
contractor in the RM 4.6
billion Port Klang Free Trade
Zone scandals. By signing
such guarantees he should not
have signed, the public had
to fork out questionable
cost-overruns increasing the
cost of the project to RM
4.63 billion from the
original estimate of RM 1.1
billion.
Clearly BN MPs will only
resign if there is a tape of
their misbehavior and
misdeeds on the same level as
Chua Soi Lek. Sadly the
public appears to be appalled
and unforgiving of private
scandal in the form of moral
indiscretions than by public
scandals of financial
corruption, even though such
financial corruption incurs
higher cost of billions of
ringgit in losses.
(04/01/2008)
* Lim Guan
Eng,
Secretary-General of DAP |