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Don't start passing the buck

R. Nadeswaran

AT A conference organised by the Bar Council last month, Pemandu chief and the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Datuk Sri Idris Jala held the audience in amazement as he rolled out the changes to the police force.

Police officers, he said, would be able to keep complainants informed of the progress of their reports periodically and the eventual outcome.

There was neither reason nor opportunity to verify the authenticity of this statement, which was accepted as one of the elements of the winds of change sweeping our much-maligned police force. Finally, anyone could get to the police station and ask: "What happened to the report which was lodged three months ago?"

This writer did not pose such a question, but someone who did so at the Jalan Bandar police station in Kuala Lumpur, got a taste of the new system when the answers were provided to his police report.

Some background: In early October, this newspaper reported that the Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) wrote off RM3.8 million invested in an events management company helmed by its president, Datuk Zainal Abidin Abu Zarin, and his family. According to minutes of its Sept 29 annual general meeting, RM3.8 million of a RM4 million investment in Paralimpik Ventures Sdn Bhd (PVSB) was written off due to the "irrecoverability" of the investment.

Subsequently, the Penang Sports and Recreation for the Disabled Association (Pesron) president Dr Tiun Ling Ta lodged a police report on Oct 18 saying that there could be a breach of trust and conflict of interests involved.

Pesron wanted to know who was responsible for transferring the money to PVSB and whether the transfer was done legally. It also said investigations are necessary as the funds belonged to paralympic athletes.

Idris was spot on. The police sent a note to Tiun last week, less than a month after the report was lodged. The note read: "Setelah meneliti, repot anda perlu dirujuk kepada SPRM untuk tindakan lanjut. Repot anda dikelasifikasikan sebagai Rujukan Lain Agensi (RLA)." (After examining the report, it has to be referred to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for further action. Your report has been classified under 'Refer to another agency'.)

From what we have gathered, the report made by Tiun did not assert any elements of corruption or bribery. It merely inferred that the transfer of the monies could be illegal and hence it could be breach of trust. If there was no mention of corruption or bribery, why must the matter be referred to the MACC?

If this is a quick-fix solution to close investigation papers and files, it sounds that some people are using such devices to placate complainants who are now demanding to know the status of their cases. By merely referring it to an agency which fights corruption, it is adding to the burgeoning workload of the MACC.
While it is understandable that the anti-graft body sometimes resort to taking action under the Penal Code, the mere audacity by the police to dump a suspected commercial crime in someone else's backyard should be something unacceptable to the MACC itself.

While the new system that has been implemented in many police stations should be applauded, it should not be used to start a game of passing the buck. Besides, the time taken by the Sports Commissioner's office to investigate the transfer of the monies under the Sports Act and related legislation, gives the impression that there is a lack of urgency and interest in getting to the bottom of this mess. It must not be forgotten that the RM3.8 million ought to have rightly been used for the development of sports for the disabled – not in personal business ventures of its officials.

Is there an unholy alliance or do we have incompetent people in these agencies?

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First the police, then MACC, then Bank Negara, then AG, then Putrajaya, then the police again.  I will suffer from vertigo before long.  This is what happens when you report against the cronies of Barisan Nasional.

I have make many police reports yet not a single one had been looked into.  

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