Blogger Syed Akbar Ali appointed to Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission

Blogger Syed Akbar Ali is one of five new members of a Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) panel who received their letters of appointment for the next two years from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday, Feb 25.

He sits on the Consultation and Prevention of Corruption Panel (PPPR) which had seven of its 11 members retained and five more added on to bring the new membership to 12.

All the seven members of the Operations Evaluation Panel (PPO) were retained and two new members were added on to raise the membership to nine....more

Appointed To The MACC

By Syed Akbar Ali

I was at the Prime Minister's office this morning, along with a number of other folks, to receive my 'watikah' or letter of appointment to the MACC's Consultancy Panel on Corruption Prevention and Education.

The official term is Ahli Panel Perundingan Dan Pencegahan Rasuah, Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM). Its a two year appointment that runs from 25/2/2011 till 24/2/2013. The appointment is by the Prime Minister.

The MACC first called me about two weeks ago, quite early in the morning as I was having breakfast at home. There were 12 people, including myself, who were appointed to the Consultancy Panel this morning. We also met the other serving members.

The other folks who received their appointments today were Prof Dr. Eng. Chin Yew Sin, Datuk Marimuthu Nadason, Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing, Haji Anis Yusal Yusoff, Dato Seri Azman Ujang, Dato Prof. Ishak Tambi Kechik, Dato Wong Chun Wai, Datuk David Chua, Dr Zainal Abidin Abdul Majid, Prof Dato Dr Abdul Rahman Hj Embong and Datuk Johan Jaafar.

It was a fairly well spread out distribution representing consumers associations, NGOs, universities, media and others. I am simply listed as 'Blogger, OutSyed The Box' which I take as recognition of the Bloggers and their contribution to the public discourse.

I wish to thank the Prime Minister and the MACC for this opportunity to serve the public. The highest form of service is indeed public service. I hope we can do good through this appointment...more

MACC claimed Raja Petra Kamarudin’s accusations are baseless

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has claimed that Raja Petra Kamarudin’s accusations are baseless — that the agency was not prosecuting prominent personalities.

Raja Petra’s Malaysia Today website has started to put out documents to support the allegations, details of complaints and evidence submitted which the MACC apparently had not followed up with prosecutions.

“The accusations made in a blog that said SPRM did not investigate and did not prosecute the suspects based on the investigation reports of three cases is absolutely baseless,” replied the MACC on its official blog, www.ourdifferentview.com today, while not naming Raja Petra directly.

On his Malaysia Today website, Raja Petra has published what he claims are copies of investigation reports against former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) chief Datuk Seri Zulkifly Mat Noor, National Civics Bureau (BTN) director-general Datuk Shagul Hamid Abdullah, former Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Khir Toyo, as well as a preliminary investigation report based on a report where Kulim assemblyman Lim Soo Nee claimed that he was offered a bribe to defect to Barisan Nasional (BN).

The anti-graft body also said that the cases against Zulkifly, Khir, and Lim were old cases, although it did not mention the case against Shagul.

“As a conclusion, all the cases cited are old cases,” said the blog post.

The anti-graft body added that news reports in 2007 had highlighted police investigations against the former ACA chief and pointed out that they could not have taken action against their own head.

“To ensure that investigations were done fairly and transparently, the police were given the responsibility to handle investigations,” said the MACC.

“Besides, the cases mentioned were not graft cases. So, don’t try to connect SPRM with this issue and slam them for purportedly not taking action to investigate and prosecute. It is not fair to hit out at SPRM and connect it to the issue of MACC’s frayed image for silencing action on this case,” it said, referring to the body’s Malay acronym.

The agency also pointed out that the report on the Kulim assemblyman did not contain enough evidence to prosecute the former Kedah mentri besar who allegedly offered Lim a RM5 million bribe to defect to the ruling coalition.

“If the investigation report is properly perused, it is merely a report that was given by the branch office to the headquarters for it to start the investigation process. In this case, the BPR (Badan Pencegah Rasuah) had already started investigations,” said the MACC, referring to the ACA’s Malay acronym.

The beleaguered anti-graft body further lashed out at PKR leaders for hampering their investigations by sparking massive media coverage which eventually affected the outcome of the case.

“The problem was the attitude of PKR’s highest leaders that were too quick to over-react until this case was blown up in the media,” said the MACC.

“It clearly affected the BPR’s investigation process. Investigations were disrupted as there was no longer an element of surprise and the perpetrators who were involved knew the future actions of the authorities. Eventually, the case that was supposed to happen did not happen. So, who should be blamed in this instance?” it asked.

The MACC stressed that they had tried to collect evidence in this case as the purported bribe had not yet occurred, but their efforts were allegedly blocked by over-reactive PKR leaders as mentioned by the former ACA chief, according to a February 2009 news report.

“In this case, the (graft) transaction had not yet happened and the process of collecting evidence was disrupted because of the over-reaction of other parties,” it said.

“Because of that, SPRM tightened laws by introducing section 29(4) of the SPRM Act 2009. It is aimed at preventing complainants from declaring their complaints in public until the investigation process is complete and the guilty party is brought to court,” said the anti-graft agency.

In the third case which involved Dr Khir, the MACC pointed out that they had no basis to prosecute him as statements from witnesses and documents favoured the accused.

“In the case of the former Selangor mentri besar, it clearly shows that both elements – which are statements and proof like documents — were on the side of the accused. So, on what basis can SPRM use to prosecute him?” asked the anti-graft body.

“SPRM has investigated and results showed that he did not commit any wrongdoing in his visit to Disneyland and Morocco,” it added.

The anti-graft body stressed that they had completed their duties in investigating Dr Khir and pointed out that an investigation process was not about pinpointing the blame on someone.

“This case clearly proves that SPRM has done its duty to investigate. The investigation process is not a process to look for someone to blame. Instead, it is a process to look for the truth,” said the anti-graft body.

“SPRM cannot accuse someone based merely on sentiment,” it added.

MACC is still struggling in a losing battle to regain public confidence.

In his campaign, Raja Petra has accused the MACC of being “a component member of the Barisan Nasional” by suggesting that the government agency did not take action against those with ties to the ruling coalition.

Raja Petra is expected to release more documents in the coming weeks.

(From: The Malaysian Insider)

Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand is “sure” that the death of Teoh Beng Hock was not a suicide !

Thai Central Institute of Forensic Science’s director Dr. Pornthip Rojanasunand is “sure” that the death of political aide Teoh Beng Hock was not a suicide.

However, she declined to put a percentage on how much she believed his death was due to homicide.

When she initially testified last year, Dr Pornthip said she believed there was an 80% possibility that Teoh's death was homicide.

When asked why she declined to quote a percentage, Dr Pornthip said: "That time, I had to convince the judge (coroner) to do a second post-mortem, so I had to give a percentage."

She also revealed that the pathologists who carried out the first post-mortem had failed to open the skin at the sacrum (the bone at the base of the spine) area and posterior part of the thigh to identify the nature of injuries there.

Dr Pornthip had initially testified that the marks on the thigh may have been due to a beating and the tear to Teoh's anus was a penetrative wound.

However, she said after having the skin from both the regions opened up at the second post mortem in November last year, she was able to say that both the injuries were due to Teoh's fall.

Dr Pornthip also told coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas that she still maintained her opinion that Teoh had sustained pre-fall injuries.

Pornthip, who has more than 25 years' experience in forensic crime scene investigation, said the injuries found on Teoh (right) were inconsistent with other cases of suicide from jumping that she had investigated.

She said the lack of fractures on Teoh's wrists, as well as a cerebral edema (swelling of the brain) indicate that he was unconscious when he landed, confirming that he did not commit suicide.

If he was conscious, she said, he would have broken his fall with his hands and sustained injuries to his wrists.

She said only one ankle was fractured, unlike most suicide by jumping cases, adding that the fracture had a wound around it, suggesting that it was due to the impact of the fall.

Pornthip also testified the skull injury was not a ring fracture, often found in cases of suicide by jumping.

Instead the fracture was caused by either a fall or beating using blunt objects.

The second autopsy, she said, revealed that the bruise on Teoh's neck was likely caused by blunt force and not by the fall, as suggested by Dr Prashant Naresh Samberkar of the Universiti Malaya Medical Centre.

"My staff and I have examined 34 to 35 cases of falls from height and none showed a serious wound like the one on (Teoh's) neck," she said.

But the injury was at a "protected area of the neck" eliminating the possibility that it was hit by an object before or during the fall.

Rather, she said, it indicates a sort of neck hold, but not from manual strangulation, as the force administered was greater than that of a human grip.

She said the bruise was unlike that caused by injury to the spine or chin. The chin area does not have blood vessels which could cause such excessive bleeding and a wound that large.

Pornthip also refuted the findings of Teoh 2nd autopsy, pathologist Dr Peter Vaneziz who had said there was no compression to the neck which occurred for a significant period of time, as the injury indicates that he Teoh's neck was pressed down to an object.

The swelling of the brain also indicates that he was deprived of oxygen for "at least five minutes", either through blockage of a vein, artery or trachea, consistent with the hypothesis of a neck hold.

Pornthip testified that Teoh did not land on its feet as Vaneziz suggested, and that the evidence indicates there was sliding.

However, she found that the anal tear previously believed to suggest possible penetration was in fact caused by injuries to the buttock region due to the fall.

MACC prosecution head Abdul Razak Musa suggests that her testimony is based on her imagination. Pornthip refutes this, saying it is based on her work.

Razak notes that she is not qualified as a forensic expert in Malaysia as the university from which she graduated is not recognised in Malaysia. Pornthip replies that the university is one of the top five in Asia - some in the public gallery applaud.

Razak puts it to Pornthip that Teoh strangled himself. He says that the other four doctors had found no such evidence of strangulation.

Gobind stands up and asks Razak to demonstrate how one can strangle himself. Razak makes an attempt, to laughter from the gallery.

Razak asks her how Teoh could be dead on the 14th floor (where the Selangor MACC office is located in Plaza Masalm, Shah Alam) but alive on the ground.

Razak sounds muddled, causing coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas to chuckle. Azmil explains to Razak that what Pornthip meant was that Teoh was likely unconscious during the fall and not dead.

Razak also asks if she has experience jumping off a building as she has testified that the body was found further from the building than in the usual case of suicide by jumping.

Malik stands up to say that Razak is trying to put words into Pornthip's mouth. "The way he is asking questions makes us want to jump off ourselves!"

Razak puts it to Pornthip that her opinion is different from that of the other four doctors who were present during the second autopsy.

Razak: One against four...

Pornthip: You have to respect the judge (coroner) who will make the decision.

Razak: We work on majority.

There were loud groans from the gallery.

Breathtakingly fast MACC officers raid S'gor exco's office

According to Malaysiakini, a team of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers have raided the office of Selangor exco Yaakob Sapari in Shah Alam this afternoon.

The nine officers arrived around 12.45pm and are still at the office.

It is believed that one of the exco's aide identified as Hussein Ahmad has been summoned to the Selangor MACC office for questioning.

According to sources, a MACC report had been lodged against Hussein with regards to corruption involved in the selling of sand.

Yaakob is the exco for agriculture, modernisation, national resources management and entrepreneur development.

'When a police report is lodged against an opposition politician, the speed of the response is breathtakingly fast. When a report is made against any BN politician, the response is breathtakingly slow.'

'Overpriced' hospital: Hello MACC? Anybody there?

Teoh 'Facial injuries may be due to beating' !

DAP political aide Teoh Beng Hock may have been injured before he fell to his death on July 16, the government pathologist who carried out the autopsy today told the coroner’s court.

Dr Khairul Aznam Ibrahim from the Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah (HTAR) in Klang admitted that he could not determine that the multiple injuries found on Teoh were the direct result of the injuries taken when he hit the ground.

Teoh had sustained massive injuries, some which are being disputed. They include a fractured skull, 22 broken ribs, certain marks which look like fingernail scratches and a punctured anus.

He added that he assumed the injuries were all a direct result of the fall because he did not see any “defensive injuries” on the deceased, pointing out the lack of cuts on Teoh's palms in his autopsy report.

He had earlier explained that under ordinary conditions, a falling person would instinctively stretch out his hands to try to slow down his fall.

There was also no trace of solid food found in Teoh’s stomach, which suggests that Teoh may have been starving and in a weakened state when he died.

The pathologist explained that a person typically takes four hours to digest food.

Dr Khairul added that Teoh may still have been alive after his body hit the 5th floor landing as his hands were found clenched, indicating he had tried to move and hold on to something.

He also put Teoh’s time of death as early as 5am on July 16.

“The estimated time of around 5am is material as CCTV recordings show that some of Teoh's investigation team left after that time,” Malik, who is acting for the Selangor government, clarified with The Malaysian Insider, referring to the security cameras monitoring the lobby floor of Plaza Masalam’s office tower block.

Under intense interrogation from lawyer Malik Imtiaz Sarwar, the senior medical forensic expert said Teoh’s body was showing signs of decomposition by the time he performed the autopsy at noon the next day

During the inquest, he quizzed Dr Khairul, referring to autopsy photographs, about the cause of some marks resembling fingernail scratches on Teoh's right hand just around where a wristwatch face would have been.

Malik: Could it have been caused by someone pulling on his watch?

Dr Khairul: It's difficult to say.

Dr Khairul seemed reluctant to give an opinion on the alleged fingernail marks, claiming that it could have been a result of the wrist flexing up and backwards hitting the spot indicated in the autopsy photos. In his report, he had not recorded any injury on the top of the hand.

The normally soft-spoken Malik blew up.

Malik: This was no intentional jumping. He fell out of the window with several people near him. He fell, as the result of an accident, and someone grabbed his hand. His watch came off because we have not found the watch!

Dr Khairul: Possibility is, yes.

Questions were also raised on the severe injuries to Teoh's buttocks, especially the anus which was found punctured.

Both Malik and Gobind, representing Teoh's family, took it in turns to put forward the idea that the deceased could have been beaten at the rear end, causing an injury there which worsened when Teoh later fell to his death.

Dr Khairul replied that it was possible, and reluctantly suggested it could have been caused by a flat, wooden object when Gobind pressed him on the issue.

But, he insisted that the puncture wound was caused by the sacrum, a bone located just above the anus, which broke off upon Teoh's impact on the ground and penetrated the rectum.

At the start of today’s inquest, Dr Khairul admitted he had found no facts to support his theory that Teoh, who was due to register his marriage to sweetheart Soh Cher Wei after a two-year courtship, had committed suicide.

Dr Khairul had interviewed Teoh’s elder brother and younger sister as well as his 29-year-old teacher fiancee on the same day.

It was so he could find out the deceased’s psychological background and whether there had been any suicidal tendencies or substance abuse.

Khairul said the facts showed that Teoh was not susceptible to suicide.

Teoh’s elder brother told him that the deceased was an “open and talkative person”, the pathologist added.

But Dr Khairul admitted, under intense grilling from Gobind, that he did not interview any of the anti-graft officers to check the possibility of a motive for murder, despite knowing that the political secretary to Selangor executive councillor Ean Yong Hian Wah had been subjected to an interrogation before he died.

“That is the duty of the police. Not me,” Dr Khairul replied.

(Source : Teoh may have been injured before death fall )