KUCHING, June 29: Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii today urged all those parties who had lodged complaints over the years against Yang di-Pertua Negeri Tun Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud for alleged corruption to come forward again.
“In view of the comment by our Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad that action has not been taken against Taib as no formal complaint has been lodged, I encourage all parties that have lodged these multiple complaints against the alleged abuse and corruption of Taib to come forward and make sure such reports goes up to the relevant authorities so that adequate action can be taken,” said Dr Yii.
Dr Mahathir made this comment during a special session with Malaysians living in Jakarta on Thursday (June 28) night.
Surprised that no official complaints or reports against Taib had ever been lodged, Dr Yii suspected that those reports made against Taib and other authorities in the state to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) either have not reached Putrajaya or there was little political will to initiate such an investigation for multiple reasons.
He said multiple reports on this matter had been lodged with the MACC and the police by both the opposition and civil society groups over the years. The Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) and Sarawak Report had also provided expose of the alleged scandals.
“The BMF has even offered to share their seven-year evidence gathering and cooperate in the investigation of corrupt practices by Sarawak’s former Chief Minister Taib, especially with regards to alleged allocation of state land to the Taib family and unexplained wealth overseas.
“In my parliamentary questions submitted today, I did urge the MACC, which is still under the Prime Minister’s Department, to state their intention and progress in initiating an investigation into the alleged corruption of Taib. I will follow up and push for greater urgency to clean up corrupt leaders and practices from the state regardless of position or power,” pledged Dr Yii.
In urging MACC to urgently investigate this matter, he said since the change of government after the May 9 polls, there had been greater urgency to address corruption in the country, especially those involving the scandal-ridden 1MDB.
“I thus urge for such urgency to also be shown towards the alleged corrupt leaders here in Sarawak, who have robbed and stole the riches and resources of our state.
“I am happy that Dr Mahathir has shown a willingness to look into Taib’s corruption again and urge that all the different reports that had already been made by different groups to be taken seriously by the MACC and initiate a formal and fair investigation into the matter,” said Dr Yii. — DayakDaily
