The recent onslaught against Suaram continued when Domestic Trade,
Co-operatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri said that
human rights advocacy group Suaram would soon face prosecution for its
“confusing” and “misleading financial accounts”.
According to press reports, the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM)
is supposed to have made a recommendation yesterday to the
Attorney-General’s office to press charges against Suara Inisiatif Sdn
Bhd, a company linked to Suaram, for unexplained financial
irregularities.
This is a clear case
of double standards and selective prosecution by BN again as many
companies that have committed more serious financial irregularities are
not given the same attention as that given to suaram and clearly an act
of political revenge to distract attention from the alleged Scorpene and
National Feedlot Corporation or Cows and Condos scandals.
Why is a privately-funded human rights NGO being selectively victimised
over supposed financial irregularities, when there are a multitude of
high-profile and scandalous cases of alleged corruption and
mismanagement of public funds such as the RM500 million “commission” for
the purchase of two Scorpene submarines and the RM250 million National
Feedlot Corporation scandal?
No Minister ever talked of investigating the accounts of the companies involved in the two alleged scandals.
All the way to the top?
Besides the double-standards and obvious duplicity, this selective
persecution against Suaram once again reveals the BN government’s
penchant for punishing the whistle-blower. Just as how PKR Election
Strategy Director Rafizi Ramli was arrested for revealing bank account
details that led to the charges against NFC Chairman Dato’ Seri Mohamed
Salleh Ismail, Suaram appears to have been victimised for its role in
publicly highlighting and assisting in the Scorpene corruption trial in
France.
After all,Suaram’s accounts have been audited and submitted routinely
every year. Even Suaram leaders have publicly declared that they have
nothing to hide. As Suaram was formed in 1989, why take action only now
but not for the previous 23 years?
Is it an act of vengeance over Suaram recent highlighting of the
acquisition Scorpene submarine scandal that goes all the way to the top
leadership of BN?
Lim Guan Eng is the DAP sec-gen & Penang Chief Minister
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