10 theSun | FRIDAY OCTOBER 23 2009

news without borders

Husna Yusop and Meena L. Ramadas at the Dewan Rakyat yesterday

Liew lied about

Why open tender was
be made through open tender.
He also wanted to know the

Suhakam application,
specialties of the two compa-
nies from which the vessels
were purchased.

says Sivarasa The submarines were

procured from Armaris of

not called for subs

THE flap over the Malaysian
Human Rights Commission
(Suhakam) being denied permis-
sion to visit an immigration de-
tention centre took another turn
after an opposition MP alleged
that a deputy minister lied about
the matter in parliament.
R. Sivarasa (PKR-Subang)
said that contrary to Deputy
Minister in the Prime Minister’s
Department Datuk Liew Vui
Keong’s statement in the House
on Wednesday, the commission
had indeed made an application
to visit detainees at the centre.
He told reporters at the
parliament lobby yesterday that
Suhakam had applied to inter-
view 207 Sri Lankan political and
economic refugees at the centre
at the KL International Airport.
“In a letter dated Oct 16,
Suhakam commissioner Datuk N.
Siva Subramaniam had applied
to Immigration Department chief
Datuk Abdul Rahman Osman
to visit Sri Lankan refugees at
10am on Oct 20.
“Siva told me he received a
call from Abdul Rahman’s per-
sonal assistant on the morning
of Oct 19 informing him that
the application was denied,”
Sivarasa said.
On Wednesday, Liew in
responding to Sivarasa’s supple-
mentary question on the matter,
said records indicated no such
application from Suhakam to
visit the centre at the said time.
“His statement contains lies,”
Sivarasa alleged, adding that he
would refer Liew to the Parlia-
mentary Privileges Committee
for disciplinary action once he
had received a written declara-
tion from Suhakam on the denial
of the application.
Liew had also said only of-
ficers from the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees
had visited the centre. However,
according to Suara Rakyat Malay-
sia refugee coordinator Temme
Lee, who was at the parliament
lobby yesterday, UNHCR officers
were also denied access.
THE purchase of two Scor-
pene submarines was made
by direct negotiation in order
to protect the country’s def-
ence system, the House heard
yesterday.
Condemning the Opposi-
tion for suggesting that the
purchase should have been
made via open tender, Deputy
Defence Minister Datuk Dr
Abdul Latiff Ahmad said doing
so may have caused Malaysia’s
security secrets to be exposed.
“What we do is, we have
our own intelligence whereby
first we study all companies
with expertise in submarines
and see whether their speci-
fications suit the country’s
security needs.
“Had we decided to call for
an open tender, we would have
exposed our defence secrets
to enemies. In the acquisition
of defence assets, no country
would go for an open tender to
buy submarines,” he said.
“If we have an open
tender, we would be submit-
ting our defence system to
outsiders. Is this what the
Opposition wants?” Abdul
Latiff asked in reply to Nga
Kor Ming (DAP-Taiping).
He said a similar approach
was also taken by countries
such as India, Chile and
Brazil.
In acquiring the subma-
rines, he said, the government
had studied the experience of
countries like India, Pakistan,
Turkey, France, Germany, the
Netherlands and South Korea.
Nga had asked why the
submarine purchase was
made through direct negotia-
tion, when the Treasury had
directed that all purchases of
more than RM200,000 must
France and Navantia of Spain
for €1.084 billion (RM5.53 bil-
lion) in a contract entered into
in June 2002.
To an original question
from Datuk Seri Tengku
Azlan Sultan Abu Bakar
(BN-Jerantut), Abdul Latiff
said the first submarine KD
Tunku Abdul Rahman arrived
in Malaysia on Sept 3, while
the second, KD Tun Razak,
was still under construction.
“It is 98% complete and is
expected to be handed over to
the Royal Malaysian Navy on
Nov 3. It will leave for Malay-
sia in February next year and
is expected to arrive in April.”
He also said the estimated
cost of maintaining the vessels
at the Teluk Sepanggar naval
base is RM270 million a year.
Reveal identity
of cops: Ngeh
BERUAS MP Ngeh Koo Ham yes-
terday asked the Home Ministry
to reveal the identity of police
officers who dragged Speaker V.

‘MCMC within the law Sivakumar out of the Perak state

in Malaysiakini probe’
THE Malaysian Communications
and Multimedia Commission
(MCMC) acted in accordance
with the law when it investigated
the Malaysiakini news portal
last month, Deputy Information,
Communications and Culture
Minister Datuk Joseph Salang
Gandum said.
He said that although the
Multimedia Super Corridor’s
10-point Bill of Guarantees
ensures that there would be
no censorship of the internet,
there had been reasons for the
investigation.
“If there were racial elements
which could create instability
in the country or elements of
misuse of the internet, this is
provided for under the MCMC
Act 1999.
“There is no contradiction
here. The MCMC acted within
the law,” Salang said in reply to
a supplementary question from
Saifuddin Nasution Ismail
(PKR-Machang).
Saifuddin had asked the
ministry to explain the MCMC’s
investigation of Malaysiakini over
two videos relating to the Aug 28
“cow head protest” against the
Selangor government’s decision
to relocate a Hindu temple in
Shah Alam.
Salang also said Malaysia’s
high-speed broadband (HSBB)
network was expected to be
deployed by the middle of
next year. Replying to a supple-
mentary question from Datuk
Halimah Sadique (BN-Teng-
gara), he said the ministry was
confident of achieving the 50%
broadband penetration target by
the end of next year.
Last year, Telekom Malaysia
was awarded a contract to dev-
elop the RM11.3 billion 10-year
HSBB project which would lead
to much faster internet access
speeds.
Salang said the system was
currently being tested at four
exchanges in the Klang Valley
– Bangsar, Shah Alam, Subang
Jaya and Taman Tun Dr Ismail.
assembly on May 7.
He said Home Minister Datuk
Seri Hishammuddin Hussein had
yet to reveal the names, identity
card numbers and addresses of
the officers who had forced Si-
vakumar out. “This is the second
time I’m asking for these details.
I did so in the first parliament
meeting, but until now, he has
not revealed them.”
Ngeh said Pakatan Rakyat
was disappointed at the way in
which Hishammuddin has dealt
with the matter so far.
“He (Hishammuddin) is in
contempt of parliament in
refusing to answer the question
posed to him and in trying to
protect the wrong doers.”
He said Hishammuddin’s
actions were tantamount to
obstruction of justice and
Sivakumar and PR members
BERNAMAPIX are intending to file legal suits
against the officers and the
RAIL ESCAPE … federal government. “Without
Rescue workers plan the removal of an overturned MPV on the KTM Komuter track in Subang these officers’ particulars, we
Jaya yesterday. The Naza Ria, with two occupants, was on the Federal Highway heading to cannot file suits.
Subang Jaya when the driver lost control of the vehicle. It crashed through the metal barrier
along the highway before ending up on the track. One of the two men sustained a broken arm National laureate
in the incident.
title for non-Malay
publications
AN opposition MP has asked

Wait for PAC report on PKFZ continues

by Zainon Ahmad
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
THE Dewan Rakyat, which was prom-
ised a report by the Public Accounts
Committee (PAC) on the multi-billion
ringgit Port Klang Freetrade Zone (PKFZ)
scandal before it adjourned on July 2, is
still waiting.
Many reports have been tabled since
the current Parliament meeting began
on Monday, but the PAC report is not
among them.
Maybe in a fortnight! After all, today
is Budget Day, and from next week MPs
will be busy vetting the government’s
proposed expenditure for next year
and where the money is going to come
from.
Among the reports tabled is the
Auditor-General (AG)’s report on spend-
ing by the federal and state govern-
ments and agencies last year. As usual,
it is only the media that seemed to be
in a flap over it.
Pages and pages were devoted this
week to the AG’s criticism of the abuse
of taxpayers’ money by the government.
For example, there was the case of a
government-owned Proton Perdana fill-
ing up RM113 worth of petrol at a kiosk
in Raub, only to fill up again for the same
amount a minute later. How?
Another case exposed was that of
a Mara institute paying RM84,640 for
two Acer Aspire 5052 laptops when
the price for each was only RM4,500.
Many such wildly inflated prices of
goods and equipment were reported,
with some purchases marked up by as
much as 3,000%. Mentioned also was
the case of a committee of the finance
ministry approving payment of more
than RM290,000 for two development
projects which do not exist.
It seems that reporting on such
abuses highlighted by the AG has bec-
ome routine for the media ever since
the case of Maggi Mee being supplied to
the army at RM8 a packet was reported
many years ago.
Some cynical members of the public
may wonder why the media should
bother reporting on these matters at
all, especially when little is done to
improve the situation and when it is
also so difficult for newsmen to avail
themselves of the report which is only
given to MPs.
Indeed it has become a routine every
year for reporters to go begging for the
report when they find out that it is being
tabled. Often it is the Opposition MPs
who, for obvious reasons, seem more
willing to loan the report to the report-
ers.
It seems strange that the AG’s report,
which in the past was tabled on Budget
Day, was on the MPs’ desks a few days
earlier.
On Monday Prime Minister Datuk Seri
Najib Abdul Razak caused loud cheer-
ing to break out in the House when in
a response to a question from Datuk
Dr Marcus Mojigoh (BN-Putatan) on
1Malaysia, he announced that Sept 16
would be recognised nationwide as
Malaysia Day, and therefore a national
public holiday.
Those from Sabah and Sarawak
cheered the loudest as, according to
Datuk Dr James Dawos Mamit (BN-
Mambong), “we have been fighting for
this for a long time”. Even some Opposi-
tion MPs cheered, while some others
looked stunned as the Pakatan Rakyat
had been championing the cause for a
national Malaysia Day since last year.
So it is now a done thing that the
country celebrates Aug 31 as inde-
pendence day for Malaya and Sept 16
as the day Malaysia came into being
and through which Sabah and Sarawak
gained their independence.
Yesterday Karpal Singh (DAP-Bukit
Gelugor) lambasted the government
for allowing the judiciary to deteriorate
to its present state where some judges
drag their feet in so far as writing judg-
ments was concerned.
While speaking during the debate on
the Judges Ethics Committee Bill 2008,
he lamented the deterioration in ethical
standards and did not mince his words
in his description of certain judges and
lawyers.
“Even so, it is demeaning for judges
to have a code of ethics,” he said.
whether the title National
Laureate could be awarded
to writers of publications in
languages other than Bahasa
Malaysia.
Noting that the title was
awarded only to Malay lit-
erature writers, Chong Eng
(DAP-Bukit Mertajam) said
that while she had nothing
against Malay literature, she
wanted to know why the
government did not have the
same award for writings in
Tamil, Chinese or the Kadazan
language.
“We are 1Malaysia. Why
can’t others be recognised as
national laureates too?” she
asked Deputy Education Min-
ister Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi.
Mohd Puad said the title
was meant for Malay litera-
ture but that he would take
note of Chong’s suggestion.
He expressed hope that more
people would show interest in
reading high quality material.
The country also lacks
good quality religious publica-
tions, he said.