letter to PM Badawi & Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
The Sarawak Campaign Committee, Tokyo, Japan has faxed and e-mailed the
following letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and
the
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency at 5:30 PM Japan Time, Friday 27th
2007,
with the endorsement of the undersigned Japanese NGOs and citizen's
groups,.
For any inquiries, please contact Sarawak Campaign Committee at
scc@kiwi.ne.jp
In solidarity,
Sarawak Campaign Committee, Tokyo, Japan
Related links:
Japan Times article that raised suspicions of corruption by CM Taib
http://search.japantimes.co.jp
Related article in Asahi Shimbun English edition
http://www.asahi.com/english
Other related articles (Yomiuri and Asahi Japanese articles too)
http://blog.limkitsiang.com/?p
Letter from CM Taib Mahmud's lawyersto Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak
(People's Justice Party)
http://keadilan.no-ip.org/
Sarawak%20CM%20to%20sue
Statement of Parti Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak in response to CM Taib
Mahmud's letter
http://www.rengah.c2o.org/news
-----
Dato’ Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad BadawiApril 27th
2007
Prime Minister of Malaysia
CC: Director, Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA)
Subject: Corruption allegations against Sarawak CM Taib Mahmud and
freedom
of speech in Malaysia
Your Excellency,
We, the undersigned Japanese non-governmental organizations and
citizen’s
groups, wish to express our profound concern regarding threats by the
Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Pehin Taib Mahmud to lodge a defamation
suit
against the Malaysiakini news service and leaders of Party Keadilan
Rakyat
Sarawak for raising allegations of his involvement in a RM 32 million
kickback scheme reported by the Japan Times and other Japanese
newspapers.
We understand that the corruption allegations raised against CM Taib
Mahmud
originated from a report in the Japan Times on Mar 29,, 2007 that nine
Japanese shipping companies which transport lumber from Sarawak failed
to
report some 1.1 billion yen (approximately RM 32 million) in income
paid as
remuneration to Regent Star, a Hong Kong-based agent with connections
to CM
Taib Mahmud and his family, during a period of seven years through last
March. According to the report, the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau
determined that these payments were rebates, not legitimate expenses,
and is
likely to impose well over 400 million in back taxes and penalties
against
the shipping companies.
The Yomiuri Shimbun (in Japanese) also reported the above facts in an
article on March 28th. Furthermore, the Asahi Shimbun English edition
reported on March 28th that the Tokyo Regional Taxation Bureau had
ordered
Kansai Line Co. to pay 50 million yen in back taxes and penalties for
falsely including so-called intermediation fees totaling 130 million
yen
paid to Regent Star over a seven year period until December 2005, in
its
cost of loading logs in ports in Sarawak, in an effort to hide the
payments.
The Asahi Shimbun Japanese edition further reported on March 27th that
shipping companies affiliated with the Nanyozai Freight Agreement (NFA)
cartel are suspected to have paid more than US $25 million (approx. 2.5
billion yen) in intermediation fees to Regent Star in the ten years up
to
2005. An anonymous industry source is quoted as admitting that “there
was
an understanding that these were payments to the Chief Minister’s
family”
and in essence, kickbacks. According to the article, the NFA admitted
that
it had in 1981 entered into an agreement with Dewaniaga Sarawak (DNS)
on log
exports to Japan, and had been instructed by DNS to pay intermediation
fees
to Regent Star in Hong Kong. The payments, which are said to have
continued
for 26 years since 1981, are said to have started at a rate of
approximately
US $1.50 per cubic meter of logs shipped, and to have increased over
the
years to the current rate of US $3.28, while the log shipments declined
from
a peak of 3.8 million m3 in 1990 to about 410,000 m3 in 2005. The
report
estimates that an average of one to four million dollars per year,
totaling
US $25,250,000 was paid to Regent Star between 1996 and 2005 alone.
The
article also mentions that an industry source alleged that DNS director
Dato’
Onn Bin Mahmud, brother of CM Taib Mahmud, sometimes participated in
person
in negotiations of the intermediation fees between Regent Star and the
NFA.
From the above, it should be crystal clear that the allegations lodged
against CM Taib Mahmud by Malaysiakini and Party Keadilan Rakyat
Sarawak are
not based on rumor or hearsay, but on information reported in a
consistent
manner by several leading Japanese newspapers. As organizations
working in
the Malaysian public interest, Malaysiakini and Party Keadilan have
merely
been exercising their freedom of expression and fulfilling their duty
to
raise concerns to the public and competent authorities regarding highly
disturbing information meriting further investigation. In fact, it
would
have been dereliction of their public duty not to have done so.
IF whistleblowers immediately face threats of litigation for
defamation, how
can citizens play an active role in eliminating corruption? Should not
CM
Taib Mahmud present a clear explanation rather than resort to such
intimidation? And if he disagrees with the allegations in the reports,
should he not question their sources in Japan and the Japanese tax
authorities, rather than Malaysian citizens who are merely bringing
them to
the public attention?
In light of your pledge to make anti-corruption a top policy priority
with
“zero tolerance for corruption,” we urge you to live up to your
reputation
by instructing the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) directly
under
your supervision to immediately commence a formal investigation into
the
allegations raised in these media reports, and to keep the public
informed
of developments thereof. Party Keadilan Rakyat Sarawak has already
lodged
two reports on this matter as of April 13th 2007, one with the Kuching
Central Police Station and another with the Anti-Corruption Agency in
Kuching, following your public statement advising that reports be
lodged so
that the ACA could take action. Japanese civil society will do its
most to
urge the Japanese tax authorities to cooperate with Malaysia in its
investigation, so that the truth can be revealed and justice served.
Furthermore, we ask you to ensure that Malaysian citizens do not face
undue
pressure or malicious litigation in an attempt to suppress their
freedom of
speech when raising issues in the public interest. Certainly such
transparency is crucial in upholding the honor and untarnished
reputation of
Malaysia in the international community.
Sincerely,
Sarawak Campaign Committee (SCC)
Friends of the Earth Japan (FOEJ)
Japan Tropical Forest Action Network (JATAN)
The Japan Citizens’ Coalition for the UN International Decade of the
World’s Indigenous Peoples (INDEC)
Japan Network on Human Rights in Malaysia
Pacific Asia Resource Center (PARC)
Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands Forest Protection Group in Japan
Y. Sakamoto, Global Environment Forum
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