The Two Million Ringgit Man - Anil Netto

Nor Mohamed Yakcop’s political secretary Hasbie Satar resigned last night, according to a statement by the Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department today.

The statement did not give a reason for Hasbie’s resignation.

But the Malaysian Mirror reported that Hasbie, a Sarawakian, was believed to be the political secretary to a senior minister who was detained during an MACC raid last Thursday on an apartment in Teluk Air Tawar in Butterworth. It added that the fourth-floor apartment was thought to have been “rented by the minister’s election team weeks before the 8 March 2008 general election and later used as a transit-home for the minister’s staff”. The portal said that it was learnt that two of the minister’s service staff were present in the apartment during the raid.

The political secretary was detained after MACC officers found RM2 million in cash, a 4WD and a BMW at the apartment. Bank accounts have been frozen.

Teluk Air Tawar is one of three Penang state assembly constiutuencies that lie within the federal parliamentary constituency of Tasek Gelugor, which is held by Nor Mohamad.

The political secretary had reportedly been under investigation over allegations that he had amassed millions of ringgit in property by being the middleman in deals for approval of multi-million ringgit projects. Investigators also reportedly obtained an order to seize his property, including luxury cars.

The raid came at around the same time that the new MACC said the commission should be judged by its actions.

But when you think of all the big corporate scandals and kickbacks and the cronyism that we have heard of in the past, RM2 million sounds like petty cash or kacang putih. It is only when the MACC takes action against the big sharks that we can really say it is effective and independent.

Last week, however, it was announced that the MACC had closed the file on eight high-profile cases.

• Malacca CM Mohd Ali Rustam’s who was alleged to be associated with ‘money politics’ during the party election last year when he was vying for the Umno deputy president’s post;
• Selangor MB Khalid Ibrahim’s who was alleged to have misused state funds to buy 46 cows during Hari Raya Haji for his Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary constituency;
• former Perak Assembly Speaker V. Sivakumar who was alleged to have misused to have misused his power in suspending Zambry Abdul Kadir and six other Perak BN government exco members from attending the state legislative assembly meeting;
• alleged corruption case of Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department T. Murugiah during its PPP party election;
• former Penang Deputy Chief Minister Mohd Fairus Khairuddin who was alleged to be associated with illegal quarry activities;
• Jawi state assembly member Tan Beng Huat who was alleged to have wrongly used allocations to buy electrical goods;
• Batu Tiga assembly member Rodziah Ismail who was alleged to have misused state government money; and
• two Parti Keadilan Rakyat Supreme Council members who were alleged to have bribed Penanti independent candidate Aminah Abdullah.