Corruption, Abuse of Prosecution Powers by Attorney General, the 31 deaths in Sarawak from viral epidemic and the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) will be the four major issues in next week’s Parliamentary question time

My first parliamentary question when Parliament reconvenes on Monday will be on corruption, asking the Acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to report to Parliament as to "what actions and measures the Government has taken on all fronts to launch an all-out war against corruption whether in increasing powers to fight corruption; enhancing penalties for corruption offences; creating an anti-corruption political culture as in encouraging an investigative media, a more accountable public service and more transparent procurement and pricing policies whether by government or privatised agencies; or developing and/or strengthening anti-corruption watchdog mechanisms."

My oral questions for next week’s Parliament includes the following:

• To ask the Prime Minister the number of Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries, Mentri-Mentri Besar, Chief Ministers and State Exco members or persons who previously held any of these positions who are currently under investigation by the Anti-Corruption Agency; explaining in particular the outcome of ACA investigations into former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Muhammad Taib or why the ACA is taking so long in investigating this case.
• To ask the Prime Minister whether the Government had asked the Attorney-General, Tan Sri Mohtar Abdullah to give a detailed reply to the serious charges that he had committed abuse and misuse of discretionary powers under Article 145(3) to "initiate, conduct or discontinue any proceedings for an offence" outlined both inside and outside Parliament and the selective prosecution of the Opposition and NGO, what is the Attorney-General’s defence, and whether in view of the fundamental importance in securing public and international confidence in the impartiality and integrity of the office of Attorney-General, the Attorney-General is prepared to appear before the Dewan Rakyat to defend himself against these serious charges.
• To ask the Minister of Health to give a full report on the deadly viral epidemic in Sarawak since the first death on April 14, why it could not have been brought under control earlier and with less deaths and what lesson his Ministry has learnt in future epidemic management crisis to ensure public confidence is never lost as happened in the Sarawak viral epidemic crisis.
• To ask the Prime Minister to give an update report of the results of the government’s international promotion of the Multimedia Super Corridor and what actions the government has taken to resolve the critical issues which international IT/multimedia companies regard as barriers to their full participation and investment in MSC.
• To ask the Foreign Minister whether the government or ASEAN had conveyed to the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) the grave concerns at the series of repressive actions which had been taken by the military junta after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Informal Meeting in Kuala Lumpur on May 31 on the admission of Burma into ASEAN in July, resulting the worsening rather than an improvement in the human rights situation in Burma, and what assurances the Myanmese regime had given that it would co-operate to make a success of ASEAN policy of constructive engagement and that admission into ASEAN would not be taken by SLORC as a license for continued disregard of regional and international concerns about human rights in Burma.

(7/7/97)