Melayu mudah lupa

The IGP’s contract will expire on the 13th of this month. In fact, he actually retired way back in 2007 but in spite of the evidence that surfaced linking him to the Chinese crime syndicate they still extended his service on a two-year contract. Now it appears they are extending his contract yet again. Malaysians have very short memories. As Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said: Melayu mudah lupa. Maybe we need to replay some of our old reports to remind you about how Malaysia’s IGP transformed into a PIG.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

‘Licensed’ loan sharks

Some local licensed money-lenders are using their licences obtained from the Housing and Local Government Ministry as a front to operate as loan sharks.

State Commercial Crime Investigation Department chief Asst Comm Roslee Chik said police have identified the individuals who lend money at loan sharks’ interest rates.

“There was a case when a RM1,000 loan was given but the interest rate was so high that the amount turned to RM6,000 in six months.

Unsavoury ads: ACP Roslee and officers of the MPPP enforcement unit with some of the loan sharks’ posters which they removed during the operation in the Paya Terubong area Wednesday.

“There are about 300 licensed money-lenders in Penang and 80 unlicensed money-lenders. We will be taking action against the unlicensed individuals soon,” he said after an operation to remove posters put up by loan sharks in Paya Terubong yesterday.

A total of 15 Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) officers and 10 officers from the Commercial Crime Investigation Department took part in the operation.

ACP Roslee said due to the loopholes and the lack of enforcement, loan sharks were becoming so bold that they now openly place advertisements and contact numbers on the posters.

“They register the numbers using photostat copies of dead people’s MyKad or alter the MyKad number. This makes it hard for us to track them down.

“We have received 32 reports on loan sharks since 2005 to June this year,” he said.

The Star, 16 July 2009

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Police: Ah Long heads could be politically-linked

KUALA LUMPUR, July 13 – The police have not ruled out the probability that two key members of Malaysia’s largest ‘Ah Long’ (loan shark) network could be familiar names in the political fraternity.

Initial police investigations have revealed that the two were among six people who had jointly headed the network which had international connections in drug trafficking and prostitution, among others.

The other four heads, including a datuk, are in police custody to facilitate investigations.

Bukit Aman CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin said preliminary investigations on some of the network heads in custody revealed a possible involvement in politics and in other crimes like drug-trafficking, prostitution and illegal businesses.

“The network is so large that it has gone overseas (overseas links) and we need time and public help to cripple it,” he told reporters here, today.

These heads are believed to have used revenue from other criminal ventures to fund and expand their illegal money-lending activities.

Yesterday, police said that four of six key players in the ‘Ah Long’ network, including a datuk, aged between 30 and 56, were arrested.

Mohd Bakri declined to comment further on the arrests. The police have set up a special team involving the federal CID and commercial crime department to track down and destroy the network, right up to its grassroots-level.

Last month, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein declared an all-out war against the ‘Ah Long’ menace and stressed that illegal money-lending activities could not be accepted or allowed to mushroom.

Bernama, 13 July 2009

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The Walls Come Crumbling Down

I have been monitoring the comments in Malaysia Today’s blogs concerning the news item on the Anti-Corruption Agency’s (ACA’s) announcement absolving the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, Johari Baharum, of corruption. Johari was alleged to have received RM5.5 million in bribes as an inducement to release three Chinese organised crime bosses from detention.

Most readers appear appalled and are up in arms that Johari was pronounced innocent. They were pretty sure he is guilty as hell and should therefore be hung upside down by his balls. Let us get one thing very clear. If anyone were to propose that a lynching team be formed to hang Johari from the nearest tree, I would be first in line to volunteer joining the mob. But it would not be for the crime of accepting bribes to release three organised crime bosses. It would be for the role he played in sabotaging Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the Kubang Pasu division elections last year.

Sure, I know, you are now going to tell me that Johari was just following the orders of the Umno Supreme Council that is headed by Umno President cum Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Yes, I know about that meeting where Johari and the Menteri Besar of Kedah were summoned before the Umno Supreme Council and that both were ordered to ensure, by hook or by crook, that Mahathir losses the contest for the post of delegate to the Umno Annual General Assembly. I also know that the meeting was recorded and that Rais Yatim pointed out how stupid it is to put such a sensitive matter on record as the entire Umno Supreme Council would be implicated in a breach of the party Constitution and the party Code of Ethics. I also know that the Minutes were then recalled and replaced with new Minutes with three pages of this extremely incriminating evidence expunged from the new Minutes.

Nevertheless, although the records were wiped clean and the Minutes amended to expunge all evidence of the crime, Johari, notwithstanding he was merely following orders under instructions of the Umno Supreme Council, cannot be absolved of this crime. But this is his only crime as far as I know. As for the crime of receiving RM5.5 million in bribes to release three Chinese organised crime bosses, I can categorically state that he is not guilty of this. And I will relate in awhile why I say so. On how the anonymous website mysteriously emerged to accuse him of this crime, and who is behind that website, this is anybody’s guess. But I heard that the police already know who set that website up with the sole intent of implicating Johari in the crime of receiving bribes from underworld bosses. Maybe the police will soon close in on the culprits and bring them to book, which I heard was perpetuated by police officers themselves.

Anyway, Malaysia Today has done its own independent investigation to get to the bottom of the allegation against Johari. And this is what we discovered, much to our surprise. In fact, Malaysia Today is in custody of the signed Statutory Declarations of no less than half a dozen police officers and many more have indicated that they are prepared to come forward to reveal the rot in the police force and expose how the Chinese organised crime syndicate is practically running the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM). But we shall address that matter later.

Today, we want to focus on the allegation that Johari received RM5.5 million to release three Chinese organised crime bosses. And as follows is what happened.

There is this Malay police officer holding the rank of ASP who we shall just refer to as Deep Throat, or DT for short. DT has in fact authorised Malaysia Today to reveal his name but we thought we would keep that a secret for now in the event we need him to come forward to testify in a court of law later on.

On 21 August 2006, DT, who was then based in Sabah, was promoted to the rank of ASP, backdated to 1 July 2005. This promotion, however, would involve a transfer, so DT approached his boss, DSP Chew Tham Soon, to enlist his help in the matter. DT later found out that DSP Chew had proposed that he be transferred to Johor. DT did not actually want to go to Johor. He would rather remain where he was. DSP Chew, however, persuaded DT to accept the transfer.

In November 2006, DSP Chew brought DT and DSP Wan Hassan, the Deputy Commander of the Police Training Centre in Kota Kinabalu, to Petaling Jaya to meet someone who could assist police personnel in matters of transfers and promotions. The person DT was introduced to in his office in the Amcorp Mall was BK Tan.

BK Tan then interviewed DT to get a better understanding of his background and experience. During this interview, a fat Chinese man by the name of Ah Hon entered the room and was introduced to DT as the man in-charge of the Southern Zone. Ah Hon would be contacting DT whenever the need arises.

As they were talking, Dato Othman Talib, a member of the Police Force Commission, entered the office and BK Tan left the room to greet him. This is the man who vets and recommends promotions of police officers and who has a very close relationship with BK Tan.

A short Chinese man also entered the room at about that same time. This man was introduced to DT as DSP Ng Fook Long, the man in charge of Johor who DT would be serving under. DT was assured that BK Tan has a very close and personal relationship with the IGP and that the IGP would listen to all his recommendations. In short, they were demonstrating to DT that they call the shots and nothing happens in the police force without them agreeing to it. DSP Chew also pointed out another man in the next room. This was none other than the IGP’s son who shared an office with BK Tan.

DT sat there watching while the assembly of police officers and the Chinese organised crime bosses discussed the latest transfers and promotions in the police force.

The following month, in December 2006, DT finally received confirmation of his transfer to Johor. That same day, DT received a phone call from Ah Hon enquiring as to when he would report for duty and that he should make his way to Johor as soon as possible.

Within two or three days of his confirmation of transfer to Johor, DT was advised by some other police officers who had once served in Johor to be wary of the Chinese organised crime syndicate. On 16 January 2007, DT reported for duty in Johor.

As soon as he reported for duty, Ah Hon contacted DT to inform him that his house was ready and he immediately went to inspect it. The house at Bistari Impian in Larkin belonged to a Chinese woman. When DT asked how much the rental was, he was informed that it was usually RM1,200 but for him it would be reduced to RM900. Nevertheless, he was told to not worry about the rent. He could move in first and they could sort out the matter of the rent later.

DT’s new boss, DSP Ng, told him that he can carry on and do his job except for the illegal lotteries or empat nombor ekor haram. For illegal lotteries he would have to refer to him (DSP Ng) first before taking any action.

On 28 February 2007, DT received a SMS from Ah Hon asking him to conduct raids in three localities in Kulai with instructions to make sure that he does not ‘come back empty’. DT informed DSP Ng about this and he (DSP Ng) replied that he too had received the same SMS. DT was quite upset about this turn of events. We are police officers and cannot receive instructions from the organised crime syndicate, said DT. DSP Ng did not respond but just kept quiet.

In early March 2007, DT moved out of the house that Ah Hon had arranged for him and went to look for new lodgings in Bandar Baru Uda. Realising that DT did not want to have anything more to do with the organised crime syndicate, Ah Hon sent DT a SMS apologising for instructing him to conduct the raid the month before. Thereafter, Ah Hon never contacted DT again.

That same month, DT received information about the organised crime syndicate headed by Goh Cheng Poh a.k.a Tengku that came under the jurisdiction of Ah Hon. According to the information DT received, Tengku would determine whom the police should raid. These are basically independent operators who refuse to come under the organised crime syndicate’s network and who chose to remain independent. DT was also informed that any police officer who did not play ball would immediately be transferred out of Johor and placed under cold storage. DSP Mohd Hedzir Bin Hussin and Inspector Ng Swee Min were mentioned as two such police officers who serve the organised crime syndicate.

On 28 March 2007, a team from Bukit Aman headed by DSP Zawawi went down to Johor to conduct raids in two locations at Taman Sri Putri in Kulai. 32 fax machines were confiscated and 17 people arrested in that raid. A police report detailing this raid was made in Kulai (report number 2588/2007) while another report was made in Johor Bharu Selatan (report number 7295/2007).

Resulting from this raid, three people -- Soh King Siang, Lim Chin Chai and Lee Yoke Han -- were recommended for detention under the Emergency Ordinance. Till today, the approval to detain them has not been given yet while the case-file for their boss, Tengku, could not be opened due to ‘lack of statement’. Instead, 13 police reports were made against DT alleging that he physically abused those detained and disciplinary action was instituted against him.

On 30 March 2007, DT and his team detained another three Chinese organised crime syndicate bosses under the Emergency Ordinance -- Chai Ngew, Chin Yew Fah and Tan Lee Poey. Under the Emergency Ordinance, just like under the Internal Security Act, one can be detained for up to 60 days after which one is either released or sent for further two years detention as the case may be. These three, however, were released after just nine days without DT’s knowledge. From what DT found out, the Deputy Director of the CID, Dato Khalid Abu Bakar, had ordered their release in spite of the detention order still being in force. On 29 May 2007, all the officers involved in the detention of these crime bosses were transferred out and placed in cold storage.

To cover their tracks, they had to pin the blame on a kambing hitam (sacrificial lamb). And this most unfortunate sacrificial lamb selected as the fall guy is the Deputy Minister of Internal Security, Johari Baharum. But that is all now history and water under the bridge. We all know about the allegation against Johari Baharum. What we want to know is: is Johari innocent or guilty of accepting a bribe of RM5.5 million to release these three Chinese organised crime syndicate bosses and scum of the earth? It appears, though, like he may be innocent after all. It was the CID and not the Deputy Minister who arranged for their release, and behind the backs of those who had arrested them on top of that. Well, if Johari is innocent and did not take the RM5.5 million bribe to release these three, then who did?

Yes, this is what the ACA may have to now look into. And I believe the ACA has already started interviewing those concerned to get to the bottom of the whole issue. Let us hope the ACA uncovers what Malaysia Today has uncovered. If not, then Malaysia Today may have to run a few more episodes of this series until the walls come crumbling down.

Nevertheless, we doubt that anything much will come out of the ACA investigation. The man tasked with the job of conducting the investigation is too junior and has barely been three years on the job. This man, Suhaimi, does not seem to even know the right questions to ask. We hope the ACA is not intentionally sending a man ill-equipped to do the job so that the whole thing can be botched up due to inexperience.

Malaysia Today, 13 July 2007