Accusations made by MACC officer are baseless and politically motivated

MalaysiaKini video recording of the press conference held jointly by Ean Yong and me:

Media Statement by YB Ean Yong Hian Wah On 22 March 2011 at Kuala Lumpur

Accusations Made by MACC officer in RCI Teoh Beng Hock Are Baseless & Politically Motivated

The allegations made by MACC Investigation Unit Chief Hairul Ilham Hamzah against the DAP Selangor at the Royal Commission of Inquiry for probing the death of Teoh beng Hock yesterday are irresponsible and politically motivated. I have answered all these baseless allegations during Inquest of Teoh Beng Hock last year. As these allegations surface again, I repeat my responses against the allegations made by the MACC officer:

1.    “I asked him (Teoh) why some purchases of services only had one quotation,” said Arman. He (Teoh) said he didn’t know at least three companies should give quotation,” he added. – MACC assistant enforcement officer Arman Alies. (Reported by the Malaysian Insider 05:02:23PM, 10-03-2011).

Response:
According to the Selangor state treasury rules, a state assemblyman doesn’t need to obtain three quotations to organise function or award infrastructure project that costs below RM20,000.

Surat Pekeliling Perbendaharaan Bil. 6 Tahun 2008 (Penambahbaikan Garis Panduan Penggunaan Peruntukan Ahli Dewan Undangan Negeri(ADUN)) says:

3.1.4 Perlantikan Kontraktor Bagi Projek-projek Pembangunan Kecil

Merujuk kepada Perolehan Kerja di dalam Arahan Perbendaharan, kerja-kerja di bawah RM20,000 boleh dibuat secara lantikan terus di kalangan kontrator Kelas F.

2.    Selangor Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation unit head Hairul Ilham Hamzah said his officers had investigated four companies, whose names were stated on four invoices dated September 2008 that were found in Teoh’s laptop. “They didn’t do the projects (as stated in the invoices),” said Hairul. (Reported by the Malaysian Insider 07:40:33PM, 17-03-2011).

Response:
This accusation was raised during the Teoh Beng Hock Inquest in 2009. At that time, my lawyer, Salim Bashir, has shown the pictures of 4 projects to Mohd Anuar (MACC Investigation Officer) and he has agreed that these projects are completed. The MACC officer should check the particulars from the Land Office before he made this accusation, because technical officers from land office has to certify completion of a project before they give payment to the contractor.

This has been reported by Malay Mail on Thursday, August 27th, 2009 04:47:00:

Earlier during questioning by Abdul Razak, Mohd Anuar told the court that four documents that contained project information from four companies had been obtained from Teoh’s laptop that MACC had seized on July 15.

The companies according to Mohd Anuar were Fizami Construction, Aris Enterprise, MKMN Enterprise and MA Bina Melor that were allocated non-existent projects.

“The method used by these companies is that they would allow certain individuals to use their company letterheads and the projects obtained the approval of Teoh and Ean Yong,” Mohd Anuar said.

Salim later showed Mohd Anuar photos of ongoing construction works by Fizami Construction, Aris Enteprise, MKMN Enterprise and MA Bina Melor and asked whether work was being carried out.

Mohd Anuar said the photos showed work being carried out.

 

3.    “DAP branch took cut from Selangor projects, RCI told.” This statement was made by Hairul Ilham Hamzah. He mentioned the kickbacks to DAP Branch and Teoh Beng Hock ranging from 10 percent to 90 percent. (Reported by Malaysian Insider 09:26:33, PM 21-03-2011).

Response:

The DAP branches and Teoh Beng Hock have never taken any cut or kickback from the contractors or suppliers. We have documents to prove that the accusations made by Hairul are lies, and show that he did not carry out proper investigation and frame up accusations against Teoh Beng Hock and the DAP.

What happened was, in many cases, the DAP branch or certain party members have paid upfront to the organizers of the programmes. When we got back the claim from land office, we then reimburse to the branch or members who have foot the bill earlier.

It is obvious that the MACC officers that have testified in the previous Inquest and present RCI have been giving misleading and contradictory statements in order to justify their unjustifiable actions toward Teoh Beng Hock that caused his death.

It is clear that the actions carried out by MACC officers  are politically motivated with the intention to tarnish the image of exco and elected representatives of Pakatan Rakyat in Selangor.

 

Ean Yong Hian Wah
ADUN Seri Kembangan
Selangor EXCO Member