ACA should stop wasting my and its time as well as taxpayers’ money to question  me about Osu Sukam’s “high-rolling”  gambling sprees and debts in various London and Australian casinos when ACA officers should be  directly interrogating Osu and his Sabah gambling pals

Media  Statement
by Lim Kit Siang  

(Ipoh, Friday): The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) should stop wasting my and its time as well as taxpayers’ money, wanting to question  me about Osu Sukam’s gambling debts and how the former two-year Sabah Chief Minister could amass such astronomical wealth as to gamble hundreds of millions of ringgit in various London and Australian casinos a year after political retirement.

Two days ago, a senior ACA officer specially went down to Malacca from Putrajaya and spent about an hour to interview DAP Secretary-General Lim Guan Eng on his two statements on Osu’s “high-rolling” gambling sprees and debts in foreign casinos, and an ACA officer has contacted my office wanting to question me in the same investigations.

Let me tell the ACA to stop wasting its time and my time as well as taxpayers’ money just to put up a show of investigating Osu’s gambling sprees and debts when it should be investigating Osu and  his gambling pals in Sabah in view of Osu’s    gambling notoriety  even before he became Sabah Chief Minister; and most important of all, whether the Osu Sukam scandal was not just the human  failure of a person but the institutional failure of a system of integrity involving anti-corruption laws, agencies and codes of conduct; and   the  lessons to  be learnt and the remedies to be put in place to avoid the recurrence of future Osu Sukams whether in Sabah or at the federal level.

The ACA should not put up a show of investigating into the Osu Sukam gambling scandal just to impress me, because I had issued a statement on 14^th July 2005 warning that DAP would move a RM10 salary cut  motion against the ACA Director-General, Datuk Seri Zulkipli Mat Noor in the 2006 Budget meeting of Parliament in October  if the ACA fails to launch a full-scale  investigation as to how a former two-year  Sabah Chief Minister could amass  such astronomical wealth as to gamble hundreds of millions of ringgit in various London and Australian casinos  a year after political retirement -  proof that the ACA is among the weakest links of the national integrity system to eradicate corruption in the country.

I had castigated Zulkipli for the failure of ACA to act with efficiency, responsibility and professionalism to investigate into the Osu gambling scandal, asking whether the massive gambling sprees of Osu  in London and Australian casinos a year after political retirement involving hundreds of millions of ringgit were  not “sufficient basis” for ACA to launch full-scale investigations?

What about  Osu’s four declarations of assets in his 15-year public service, first as  Deputy Works Minister in 1986, Federal Minister for Land and Co-operatives in 1994, Sabah Deputy Chief Minister and Finance Minister in 1998 and Sabah Chief Minister March 1999 – 2001, as a basis for ACA investigations?

The ACA should in fact  be widening the scope of its  investigations to embrace pertinent  questions like:

• Are there any other senior politicians or civil servants who are members of any casino overseas, whether London, Australia or United States?

•  Are there any other senior politicians or civil servants who regularly visit casinos?

• Did the ACA ever investigate into Federal Cabinet Ministers when they  had the reputation of  “high roller” gamblers  in foreign casinos?

The dismal failure of ACA to come to grips with the fundamental problem of corruption was vividly highlighted by the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, in his speech as UMNO President at the 56^th UMNO General Assembly yesterday – that  the war against corruption in the country cannot succeed if UMNO is corrupt and that any meaningful anti-corruption drive must be spearheaded from within UMNO itself.

Zulkipli and the ACA should convene a series of brain-storming sessions to study, digest and understand Abdullah’s speech and message that “the Government’s war against corruption will not be successful if UMNO itself has a culture of corruption”, as the ACA director-general and ACA officers have completely failed to grasp this most important  point up to now.

ACA has done virtually nothing to combat money politics and political corruption in UMNO, despite their  critical role in corroding the national integrity system.

ACA must find inspiration and a new lease of life from  Abdullah’s vow “to cleanse UMNO of political corruption” and his declaration: “I may be climbing a steep slope, but I will not be deterred nor will I lose faith.  As long as there is life in my body, I will seek strength from the Almighty to continue my battle to eliminate corruption:”.

The ACA must not wait for any “green light” from the Prime Minister before declaring  a full-scale war against corruption, targeting  political corruption particularly in UMNO, starting with a serious and professional investigation into Osu’s “high-rolling” gambling sprees and debts and those of other top UMNO and Barisan Nasional leaders.

(22/07/2005)