Umno veteran lodges ACA report on top leadership

Malaysiakini reported that an Umno veteran has lodged an ACA report on the party’s top two leaders for alleged abuse of power.

Former Umno youth exco Mazlan Harun, a son of the late Datuk Harun Idris, who was a former Menteri Besar of Selangor, claimed that party president Abdullah Badawi and his deputy, Datuk Najib Tun Razak, had allegedly misused government machineries to get support from party members to retain their position in the coming party elections in December.

The complaint was based on a letter by Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan division chief Datuk Zahar Hashim, which was addressed to the party's secretary general.

Zahar had demanded that disciplinary action be taken against Abdullah and Najib for allegedly abusing their power - raising the issues of unethical practice of using Government machinery in party elections and bribery by giving “kain pelikat" as gifts and travelling expanses and providing hotel accommodation to garner support from party members.

This is the first time that a formal complaint was lodged against the party's top two leaders on money politics.

Malaysiakini

ACA report against Abdullah, Najib

Syed Jaymal Zahiid | Aug 5, 08 12:36pm

An Umno veteran today lodged a complaint against party president Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and deputy president Najib Abdul Razak with the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) for alleged abuse of power

The complaint was based on an open letter by Umno Petaling Jaya Selatan division chief Zahar Hashim and addressed to the party’s secretary-general, demanding that both Abdullah and Najib be disciplined for allegedly abusing their power.

In a blog that published the letter, the Umno president and his deputy were accused of using a government agency under the Information Ministry called the Special Affairs Department (Jasa) as their party campaigning platform.

"Abdullah met with Umno leaders through Jasa in Kuala Lumpur and gave them money and kain pelikat (sarong) or batik while providing them with four-star hotel accommodation as well as entertainment," read the blog.

Explicitly campaigning

Zahar said a memo dated July 8 - issued by the Umno headquarters in Kuala Lumpur - had invited all Umno division, branch, Putera, Wanita and Puteri wing leaders nationwide to attend a closed door briefing on July 10 at the party headquarters.

At that briefing, Zahar in his letter accused Abdullah and Najib of explicitly campaigning for themselves in view of defending their number one and number two positions respectively at the party polls scheduled for December this year

"The content of their speeches clearly reflected abuse of power and were intended at persuading division leaders (to support their party positions)," Zahar said in the letter.

According to Zahar, holding gatherings and giving out ‘pocket money’ to party members are clear violations of party guidelines and both the president and deputy president are not exceptions to the rule.

He said both Abdullah and Najib went against guidelines which they themselves had helped compile. "Is this what they mean by leadership by example?" asked Zahar.

The letter also slammed the planned handover of power by Abdullah to Najib in two years time as a ‘political bribery of the highest order’ though it did not specify why such a move was considered a form of political bribery.

Internal feuds?

Mazlan, when met later, refused to reveal the details of his report, saying he wants the matter to be investigated by the ACA.

"Let’s leave it to the ACA to investigate. I am lodging the report so that there will be no abuse of power in the party and so that the party elections will be held in a fair and free manner," he said.

Asked if the report was an indication of internal feuds in Umno, Mazlan said that his actions were merely a ‘democratic process’, adding that the report was not lodged against Umno as a whole, but against individuals within the party.

He said both Abdullah and Najib went against guidelines which they themselves had helped compile. "Is this what they mean by leadership by example?" asked Zahar.

The letter also slammed the planned handover of power by Abdullah to Najib in two years time as a ‘political bribery of the highest order’ though it did not specify why such a move was considered a form of political bribery.

Mazlan said that his actions were merely a ‘democratic process’, adding that the report was not lodged against Umno as a whole, but against individuals within the party. - Malaysiakini

Meanwhile, Civil Movement Against Corruption (Gerak) chairman Mohd Nazree Mohd Yunus has urged the ACA to investigate all those involved in money politics in the Umno elections at all levels.

"Gerak supports Datuk Mazlan Harun for reporting political corruption involving the Umno president. The allegations by Datuk Zahar Hashim that the Prime Minister is involved in money politics should be looked into," he said in a statement.

Go to Kuda Ranggi for his entry: Laporan terhadap Pak Lah, sejauh mana BPR bebas