The Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, in giving his sanction to the Acting Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, to launch an all-out war against corruption, has stressed the following principles:
"We will not defend anybody who is corrupt. Otherwise, people will think that just because we are in power, we protect them...this is not healthy for the party and the Government.
"I think that we should not only be clean but also be seen to be clean, or we will lose our credibility."
In the same vein that top political leaders must "not only be clean, but also be seen to be clean", the ACA must not only act independently and thoroughly in investigations involving top political leaders, whether directly or indirectly, but must also be seen to have acted independently and thoroughly in such investigations.
Let the ACA’s investigations into Ling Hee Leong’s phenomenal catapult into the billion-ringgit bracket into the corporate stratosphere be a test case as to whether the ACA could not only investigate independently and thoroughly but be seen to be investigating independently and thoroughly into all ACA reports.
In its 48 years of existence, the MCA had made no contribution whatsoever towards establishing high standards of public integrity in government and politics.
For once, MCA could make a significant contribution towards raising high standards of public integrity, by giving full support to the ACA to conduct an independent and thorough investigation into Ling Hee Leong’s RM1.2 billion shares ownership and be seen to be investigating independent and thoroughly.
It does not mean that the ACA could only convince Malaysians that it had conducted independent and thorough investigations if it come to an adverse finding in the investigations into Ling Hee Leong.
If Ling Hee Leong had been able to make a phenomenal catapult into the billion-ringgit bracket of the corporate stratosphere at the age of 27 completely on his own merits, then he is a corporate "wonder boy" who should be a household word in Malaysia and whose feat should be the inspiration of all aspiring Malaysian entrepreneurs.
The ACA should let the whole country know how Hee Leong could have achieved this wondrous feat, as listing the various loans and the banks which had given these loans, the terms of the loans, etc., so that other young Malaysians could also try their hand at catapulting into the billion-ringgit of the corporate stratosphere.
(16/6/97)