honour of Champion of Corruption.

Transparency International, ANI Washington, Hindustan Times and WSJ Live, to name a few, have all bestowed Malaysia the dubious honour of Champion of Corruption.

COMMENT

By Chua Jui Meng

For so long, Malaysia has been in the domestic and international limelight as far as corruption is concerned.

However, it has never been humiliated and shamed by the international community wholesale like today.

Transparency International, ANI Washington, Hindustan Times and WSJ Live, to name a few, have all bestowed Malaysia the dubious honour of Champion of Corruption.

Much have been written, reported and more than 100 financial scandals exposed since 1983, beginning with the then world’s biggest banking financial loan scandal – the Bumiputera Malaysia Finance (BMF) which came with a murder suspense.

BMF’s internal auditor Jalil Ibrahim was found dead in a banana grove in Hong Kong in July 1983 when he was sent there to probe the scandal.

The federal government had to bailout BMF three times to a tune of RM2.5 billion to keep it afloat.

After 29 years, no one has been punished for the financial scandal and no one has been convicted for the murder.

That was 1983. What about today?

It is still the same as reflected by the murder of Mongolian interpreter Altantuya Shaariibuu who is linked to alleged corrupt financial practices over Malaysia’s Defence Ministry’s purchase of two French-made second hand Scorpene submarines at an inflated price of RM6.7 billion.

What is confirmed is that Altantuya was murdered by two police security officers who served Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor.

Although the two policemen have been convicted for the murder and their case is pending appeal, what we amazingly still don’t know are these:

• What’s the motive for the murder. The presiding judge had the audacity to rule that the motive for the murder is irrelevant. Can any court in the world beat that?;

• Why did the murderers, after shooting Altantuya point blank on the head, need to use exclusive military grade C4 explosives to blow up her body. The plausible explanation for this is to destroy all DNA evidence as she was reported to be pregnant when she was killed. This begs the question: Whose child was Altantuya carrying?; and

• Why is the Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) government so fearful of the ongoing French court’s probe on alleged corrupt financial practices over the Scorpene purchases, to the ridiculous extent of barring French lawyers from entering the country to brief parliamentarians and Malaysians on the development of the case.

Rising federal debts

Malaysia is a country blessed with vast and rich natural resources, including oil and gas. But, after 55 years of BN-Umno rule, the country’s federal debt is at more than RM620 billion (including RM118 billion in off-budget liabilities or sovereign guarantees for private corporations like the Port Klang Free Zone and government-linked company loans ending 2011) against a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of RM881 billion or 70.4% of GDP.

This means the BN government is operating way above the legislated federal debt ceiling of 55% of GDP.

Although I have mentioned this many times over, there is surely a need to keep on reminding all Malaysians so that, when they go to the next general election, they can make an informed decision on what they must do to save Malaysia from an economic disaster of a bankrupt nation.

Congratulations Najib. The whole world now knows you are leading the most corrupt nation on earth.

Also read:

Malaysia is World Champion in Corruption

Chua Jui Meng is PKR vice-president and Johor state chief. He is also a former MCA vice-president and an ex-Cabinet member.

NCR was in any event extinguished by legislation

Appeal Court reverses NCR verdict on turtle egg collection

Published on: Friday, December 14, 2012

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Kota Kinabalu: The Court of Appeal on Thursday allowed the State Government's appeals against the High Court's decision to grant customary rights to two traditional turtle egg collectors to collect the eggs at Pulau Sipadan.

The appellate court also dismissed the claim for Native Customary Right over the whole Sipadan island by one Haji Abdillah Haji Abdul Hamid.

Justices Datuk Ramly Haji Ali, Dato' Anantham Kasinather and Dato' Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahim unanimously allowed the State Govern-ment's four appeals after hearing submissions from all parties.

The appellate court held that on the question of Native Customary Rights (NCR), they were not satisfied that both individuals (Ab Rauf Mahajud, 70, and Haji Abdillah) have established NCR.

"NCR was in any event extinguished by legislation," they ruled.

They also held that the collection of turtle eggs in the island is illegal by law and that the question of compensation does not arise.

The court further said that the possession of turtle eggs did not arise by way of NCR under Section 15 of the Sabah Land Ordinance and also not a property of Ab Rauf and Abdillah.

The State Government and the Board of Trustees of the Sabah Parks were appealing against Ab Rauf Mahajud in the first appeal.

In the second appeal, the Semporna Assistant Collector of Land Revenue (ACLR) and State Government was appealing against Haji Abdillah Haji Abdul Hamid, while the third appeal was by Ab Rauf against the State Government and the Board of Trustees of the Sabah Parks - all appeals on the issue of liability.

The fourth appeal was by the State Government and the Board of Trustees of the Sabah Parks against Ab Rauf, and the fifth appeal by Semporna ACLR and State Government against Abdillah, both appeals on the consequent issue of quantum.

State Attorney General Datuk Roderic Fernandez defended the State Government, Ab Rauf was represented by counsel Yunof Maringking while Abdillah was represented by counsel Alex Decena and Shireen Sikayun.

The High Court, which heard both Ab Rauf and Abdillah's suits together on the issue of liability, had on Dec. 15, 2009 allowed the application by traditional turtle eggs collector Ab Rauf and 70 family members to collect the turtle eggs around Sipadan.

The High Court also granted a similar claim by businessman Haji Abdillah on Native Customary Rights over 2.5 acres of ancestral land on the island to collect turtle eggs and ordered the Deputy Registrar to assess damages on both suits.

The High Court Deputy Registrar, who heard the assessment of damages of both suits, had on April 20, 2011 awarded damages of RM4,376,008.75 to Rauf's suit in respect of the right to collect turtle eggs and awarded damages of RM5,524,711.04 to Abdillah and also awarded damages of RM26,500,000 to Abdillah in respect of the loss of the tourist resort, which Abdillah would otherwise have developed on the 2.5 acres of native customary right land on the island.

The appellate court in Thursday's proceedings, also dismissed Ab Rauf's appeal against the part of the High Court decision which had dismissed his claim for native customary right over the whole Sipadan island.

Earlier, Roderic, among others in his submission, said that the collection of turtle eggs is totally prohibited on Sipadan island or anywhere in Sabah since July 31, 1998 and that the right to collect turtle eggs on Sipadan island is not a native customary right within the definition of Section 15 and 65 of the Land Ordinance.

The island had been reserved for public purposes particularly of a bird sanctuary since 1933 and no one can claim it even via NCR and both Ab Rauf and Abdillah had not established the NCR factually, said Roderic.

Sipadan on Sept 24, 1997 was declared a protected area under the Protected Areas Order 1997 and under the control and management of the National Security Division, which remains so until today, he said.

When Malaysia went to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to challenge Indonesia's claim to the island, it was not Malaysia's argument on the continuity of occupation on the island as the ICJ judges found it on different principles, he said.

Meanwhile, Decena submitted among others that having established NCR under common law, Abdillah does have propriety rights over Sipadan island under the Land Ordinance even though the island had been reserved as a Bird Sanctuary and that despite the ban under the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 on collecting turtle eggs in Sipadan and elsewhere in Sabah, the enactment does not extinguish Abdillah's NCR to collect eggs on the island, established under common law.

Even if the enactment does extinguish Abdillah's NCR to collect and sell eggs from the island, he is entitled to compensation for loss of the right, said Decena.

Ab Rauf in his application on Dec 8, 2006 to seek an injunction against the State Government and Board of Trustees of Sabah Parks (defendants) from continuing to possess the island, said he is an heir of Maharaja Ligaddung Samang, who had the right to collect turtle eggs on the island which was recognised by the then British Government in letters dated Jan 25, 1916 and July 5, 1957, respectively.

He said the Federal Government had also recognised his grandfather's right to collect turtle eggs on the Island and the State Government had also sought his grandfather's cooperation to challenge Indonesia's claim to the Island in the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled in favour of Malaysia.

He further said that the Tawau Syariah Court granted him an order on Nov 23, 1998 to inherit the right to collect turtle eggs for 40 nights a year.

The Sabah Government took over the island in 1997 and, without consent, licensed 12 tourism companies to run business there, thus his families were prohibited from collecting turtle eggs, said Ab Rauf.

Ab Rauf also wanted the court to rule whether the defendants are liable to pay compensation to his family for the loss of their right of use and occupancy of the Island under customary tenure resulting from the application of the Wildlife Conservation Enactment 1997 and or the licensing of 12 companies to do tourism business on the Island.

Meanwhile, Abdillah's ancestors had built, lived and maintained a house on the island and planted coconut trees and tapioca over 2.5 acres on the island and Abdillah, who inherited that NCR continued to collect and sell turtle eggs from the island and maintained the house and the 2.5 acres.