Justice for Dato Ramli Yusuff Overdue

Dato Ramli Yusuff’s Acquittal is called for in the name of Justice.

by Din Merican

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Dato Ramli Yusuff , the former Commercial Crimes Investigations Director (CCID), Polis DiRaja Malaysia will have to wait till March 12, 2010 to know whether he will be acquitted without his defence being called. Reproduced below is Bernama’s report:

KUALA LUMPUR, February 25, 2010 — The Sessions Court here today set March 12, 2010 to rule on former Bukit Aman Commercial Crime Investigation Department Director (CCIDD) Datuk Ramli Yusuff who is facing two charges of failing to declare ownership of shares and interests in two properties worth more than RM1 million.

Judge M. Gunalan fixed the date after hearing submissions from deputy public prosecutor Datuk Abdul Razak Musa and Ramli’s counsel Datuk Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah. A total of 35 prosecution witnesses had testified during the trial, including Ramli’s two younger sisters Roslina and Rohmah.

Ramli’s friend, Datuk Ling Keak Ming, who assisted the former senior police officer sisters in acquiring the two shop-lots at Jalan Yap Kwan Seng here, also testified.

Ramli, 57, was charged with failing to declare the ownership of 20,000 Telekom Malaysia Berhad shares, 154,000 Permaju Industries Berhad shares and interests in two office properties worth RM1,032,840. The offences were allegedly committed at the office of the ACA Deputy Public Prosecutor in Putrajaya on September 17, 2007. — Bernama

This happened after Dato’ Razak Musa told Judge Gunalan that he wanted to make additional oral submissions although Dato’ Seri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah had already informed the Court that full written submissions had been filed by both sides.

Razak’s insistence on making oral submissions makes one believe that he is such an eloquent and persuasive advocate who could sway the case in the MACC’s favour. But as it turned out, Razak became a jester and an embarrassment in court, just as he did in Teoh Beng Hock’s Inquest in his infamous retort to Karpal Singh – “I can sit down but you can’t stand up” making fun of Karpal for being an invalid.

Sadly, that is how the Malays like Razak have become under the NEP affirmative action policy. Malays have not become smarter; in stead, they have become ” bodoh sombong” (boldly stupid).

It was “bodoh sombong” because by that insistence Razak had just challenged the brilliant and very successful legal mind like my friend Dato’ Seri Shafee to a verbal exchange. And what a mistake that was! Whatever critics may say of him, Shafee is certainly one eloquent and persuasive advocate.

In no time, Dato Seri Shafee showed how foolish the MACC case was against Dato Ramli. He demolished the case made out by Razak. He informed Judge Gunalan that in a related case against Dato’ Ramli in Sabah, Kota Kinabalu Judge Supang Lian had dismissed the ACA’s case and acquitted Dato’ Ramli without even calling for his defence.

In simple layman’s term, that means that the ACA which has since been reincarnated into MACC by statute never had a case against Dato’ Ramli. In layman’s term, Dato’ Ramli was fixed by those who feel threatened by the CCIDD’s competency, integrity and professionalism. As if to add insult to injury, Judge Supang Lian also said that IGP Tan Sri Musa Hassan is an unreliable witness whose evidence was suspect. That is a very mild way of saying “ I cannot and do not believe you because I caught you lying!”

During yesterday’s submission, Judge Gunalan showed his displeasure towards Dato’ Razak. Already those in the gallery noted that while Dato Seri Shafee referred to Judge Gunalan respectfully as ” Yang Arif”, Razak did not once use that respectful term in addressing the Judge. Sheer Arrogance of the man. The most he did was to say “Tuan”. Even so, he behaved contemptuously when, in desperation, he said – ” This court must keep an open mind at this stage….” implying that the Judge had closed his mind. Well, no one can blame the Judge for his displeasure after seeing that Razak’s own submission was very weak and showed that he had not made a prima facie case against Dato Ramli.

In evaluating the witnesses, Judge Gunalan observed that the case against Dato’ Ramli started with the s. 32 Notices issued by MACC DPP Kevin Anthiony Morais. Kevin based it purely on the statement of one underworld operator, Moo Sai Chin. This man is a known criminal and a self confessed briber, murderer, pimp and everything else that an underworld kingpin is.

Judge Gunalan noted that Moo had earlier been detained by the CID and upon his release under suspicious circumstances, he had a ” sudden wave of conscience” to voluntarily attend at the MACC HQ to complain against several police officers whom he had bribed to cover up a murder case in Perak. The Judge remarked causticly that Moo never actually named Dato Ramli in any report.

In fact the officers whom Moo had named were not even investigated. Instead, it was the MACC which then lodged several cover reports against Dato Ramli. The Judge also tracked the suspicious reports from No. 098/07 which was based on No. 075/2007, which was based on 072/2006, which was based on 065/2006. Why so many cover reports and who was being covered is a question that only the MACC can answer.

Judge Gunalan also noted that without the basis of a properly conducted or completed investigation, DPP Kevin Anthony Morais, as the Deputy Director of Prosecution for MACC, then served on Ramli two s. 32 Notices requiring Dato Ramli to declare all his assets going back to the day he first joined the police force in 1970.

Without even interviewing the accused, Kevin Morais instructed Dato Ramli to be arrested and charged. That Dato Ramli was arrested and his only statement was recorded on the very morning just before he was charged is significant as it showed that all is not well with the MACC. It showed the recording of statement process is just a “melepaskan batuk ditangga”. It showed that the MACC and A-G Gani Patail had decided to charge Ramli regardless of what he might say in his statement to explain the assets in question.

The Judge also observed that there was “no proper investigation”, hence there was no basis to issue the notice against Dato Ramli when Dato Seri Shafee narrated all the facts that proved that there was no bona fide investigation. The MACC and A-G Gani Patail just wanted to crucify Ramli Yusuff and put him on the stand as a warning against anyone who dared to challenge those in the corridors of power.

For good measure they charged Dato Ramli’s lawyer friend, Rosli Dahlan, regardless that there was no predicated offence to invoke the issuance of the Notice against either of them. This was a display of brute power and arrogance. It was made clear to Judge Gunalan that Kevin Morais had exercised his powers in an arbitrary and oppressive fashion.Why Kevin who is “soft” in many ways would act so vindictively would only be known if Kevin would admit that he was “under orders”.

Hopefully, Kevin would be a good Christian and repent. As it is, many Church goers are already reminding Kevin of God’s punishment on the people of Sodom. Well that seems to be the same logic used by A-G Gani in prosecuting Anwar Ibrahim in the on-going Sodomy II trial.

Back to this case, it was alarming to note that when the issue of the validity of the notice was raised, Dato Razak blandly retorted that even if the notice was bad, that can only be challenged in a civil High Court. He argued that since Dato Ramli did not challenge the validity of the Notice in a separate proceedings in a civil High Court, therefore ,he s forfeited all rights to challenge the notice at all.

This was really warped logic. It is as if Razak had amnesia of the fact that Lawyer Rosli Dahlan had done exactly that, by challenging the Notice in an application for Judicial review in the High Court. And guess what? The same MACC and the same A-G’s office argued that Rosli’s application must be dismissed as it interfered with the criminal case.

To observers who have been following Ramli’s and Rosli’s trial, it is all very clear that IGP Musa Hassan and A-G Gani Patail had used the MACC as a tool in the conspiracy and persecution of Dato Ramli Yusuff and Rosli Dahlan. That happened to these two unfortunate professionals who dared to stand their ground can also happen to any innocent citizen like you and I.

That this same A-G can go on a US tour to lecture the world’s biggest democracy on “Rule of Law and the Malaysian Judiciary” at CSIS seminar in Washington DC is an insult to all Malaysians. But the fact that he never turned up at the seminar is a clear sign that he cannot face questions for the audience with regard to Justice and the Rule of Law in our country.

Let us say to our Prime Minister Najib – look, enough is enough. Please stop this nonsense because not only God is watching from a distance, but we Malaysians will no longer take this insult to our good sense and intelligence. To Judge Gunalan, we have this to say to you, Yang Arif: come March 12, 2010, you must be as brave as Judge Supang Lian to administer the justice and show us Malaysians that there are still judges in our country who can act independent and on the basis of all the evidence acquit Dato Ramli Yusuff without his defence being called.

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