Chow Kon Yeow: 曹观友

It is still happening in land offices throughout the country.

Today, Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Khir Toyo said some land office employees are hiding applications for land, with the aim of grabbing land for themselves. Recently I also read that a Perak land officer approved to his wife a piece of land that was applied by a farmer who had been cultivating the land for years.

Such cases occurred in land offices where certain officers well versed in land matters hid the original applications.

After some months they submit a new application with names of family members to get the same plot of land.

An incensed Dr Khir said the culprits would be sacked if three complaints were made against them. He said that in Dubai, if an officer received three complaints against him, he would be sacked. “If I were to do this here, there might be no one left,” he said.

One time is too many already, Dr Khir, as this fraudulent practices in land office cannot be tolerated at all. The Menteri Besar should ask the ACA to step in now.

There must be political will in the government to clean up the land offices where land transactions were made based on forged documents. So many land owners or buyers are tricked into such transactions. There are syndicates working hand in glove with dishonest and corrupted land office employees, lawyers and brokers.

The police are also dragging their feet whenever such cases are reported.

I am now pursuing one such case which occurred in the Penang land office. I tried contacting the investigating officer many times but to no avail. Finally the commercial crime unit head replied that they are still investigating the case, two months after the report was lodged by the victim.

The Minister promised at the last session of Parliament that they are working on the matter. But there are so many cheating cases happening all over the country.

I will pursue the matter again in the coming session of Parliament which begins on 18 June.

A bridge too far for Malaysia’s premier
By Mageswary Ramakrishnan

KUALA LUMPUR - A growing tussle between Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his strong-willed predecessor, Mahathir Mohamad, has complicated the premier’s reform plans and cast a dark cloud over the political scene.

Abdullah rose to power with Mahathir’s overt blessing in 2003, and with a promise to reform the links between government and business that characterized Mahathir’s 22-year tenure. Nearly three years later, a series of politically charged policy decisions has put the two leaders on a collision course that is testing Abdullah’s grip on power.

Abdullah’s recent decision to suspend construction of a half-built bridge from Malaysia’s Johor province to Singapore reportedly infuriated Mahathir, 80, who made an executive decision to build the massive bridge two months before announcing his resignation in 2003.

Mahathir had earlier promised to inspect the bridge’s construction, even if he was no longer in power. His son sits on the board of one of the Malaysian companies involved in the bridge’s construction.

Abdullah also recently sacked the chief executive officer of the national car maker, Proton, a well-known Mahathir associate. Mahathir, who currently serves as a senior adviser to the company, publicly condemned the decision. Proton was largely shielded from international competition during Mahathir’s tenure, where high tariffs made foreign cars as much as triple the price of Proton’s cars. Abdullah has since moved tentatively to reduce those trade barriers.

On his resignation, Mahathir overtly decided against taking on the title of mentor minister, as Lee Kwan Yew did in Singapore to maintain a measure of influence over major government policies. Now that Abdullah’s policies have exposed chinks in Mahathir’s political legacy, the tough-talking former premier is fighting back with a surprising vengeance. (more…)

MEMORANDUM KEPADA JAWATANKUASA PILIHAN KHAS DEWAN RAKYAT
MENGENAI INTEGRITI PADA 27HB. FEBRUARI 2006 DI DEWAN SRI PINANG, PULAU PINANG.

Jawatankuasa Negeri DAP Pulau Pinang menyambut kedatangan Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Dewan Rakyat Mengenai Integriti ke negeri Pulau Pinang dan mengambil kesempatan ini untuk menyampaikan keprihatian kami mengenai isu integriti melalui memorandum ini.

Kami tidak ingin menunjukkan dengan pura-pura bahawa kami lebih tahu daripada Ahli-Ahli Jawatankuasa Pilihan Khas Dewan Rakyat serta seluruh jentera kerajaan mengenai isu integriti, etika, good governance dan korupsi. Kami merasa seluruh Negara Malaysia dari Perdana Menteri sehingga rakyat biasa tahu bahawa kita perlu berhadapan dengan masalah korupsi dan integriti.

Soalan pokok yang menjadi teras keprihatian kami adalah sama ada kerajaan dan rakyat mempunyai keazaman politik yang tulen untuk menangani masalah korupsi dan keruntuhan etika dan integriti dalam ruangan awam Negara ini. (more…)