Thesun 2009-08-24 Page01 Lunas Rep Goes Independent

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No. 4781 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)

Monday August 24, 2009

TELLING IT AS IT IS

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» Ong questions Tiong’s credibility pg2

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» Pato on the double for Milan pg28

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pg15

Police probe only points relevant to Teoh inquest by Charles Ramendran [email protected]

SHAH ALAM: Police will probe only certain allegations in a mystery letter which are relevant to the Teoh Beng Hock inquest while the rest of the explosive claims will be investigated for abuse of power by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Selangor police chief DCP Datuk Khalid Abu Bakar declined to specify what they are looking at but said the investigations are almost complete and the investigating officer will hand over the findings directly to the coroner within this week. Police are acting on the instruction of coroner Azmil Muntapha Abas who adjourned the inquest on Wednesday after he was given a typewritten letter by Gobind Singh Deo, the lawyer for Teoh’s family. The content was not revealed in court, but a five-page document on MACC letterhead, purported to be the same as that which was tendered to the coroner, was published on some websites. It indirectly implicated a senior officer of the Selangor MACC and a prominent Selangor politician. It is learnt that among the areas police are probing is a DNA profile of the senior MACC officer mentioned in the letter to find a match with two other unknown DNA samples found on Teoh’s body. Despite extensive sampling, the owners of the samples have yet to be identified. Meanwhile, Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam, who had also received a copy of the mystery letter, lodged a police report on Friday, urging police to investigate the two individuals named in it. Manikavasagam, who lodged the report at the Brickfields district police headquarters, said his report was transferred to Klang police and subsequently to Shah Alam police. He said he received a call from a senior police officer from the Shah Alam commercial crimes investigations department (CCID) on the same day and was told that his report was being looked into. He said if nothing moves, he will hand over a memorandum to the Inspector-General of Police. “The letter contains serious allegations linked to Teoh’s death and they should be looked into seriously. An investigating team from Bukit Aman should handle this,” he said. Manikavasagam said copies of the letter, which also had the MACC letterhead, were also sent to Pakatan Rakyat leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok and an official of PAS.

» Teoh inquest resumes today – page 3

Lunas rep goes independent KUALA LUMPUR: Lunas state assemblyman and Kedah executive councillor Mohd Radzhi Salleh (right) yesterday announced he had quit Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) to be an independent. However, he wants to keep the Tourism, Community Development and Human Resources Committee chairman post, saying he was appointed by the Sultan of Kedah. But that may be wishful thinking as hours later Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak said that he will seek an audience with the sultan today to convey PKR’s request that Mohd Radzhi be dropped as executive councillor. “It is at the behest of Tuanku (the sultan) that executive councillors are appointed and dropped. I will present PKR’s request for him (Mohd Radzhi) to be dropped. “The position remains under the PKR quota unless PKR wants to give it to someone else,” he told a news conference at his office in Alor Star. Kedah PKR chairman Ahmad Kasim, who was present, said the Pakatan Rakyat coalition is even ready to face a by-election. He also said that he will ask Mohd Radzhi to resign from the Lunas seat. In announcing his decision at a hotel in Kuala Lumpur, Mohd Radzhi said that he has lost confidence in the PKR leadership and his decision is in keeping with the dissolution of the PKR Padang Serai division announced by its acting chief Jamaludin Abu Hassan, who has quit the party. Seated next to Mohd Radzhi at the press conference was Jamaludin. “As an elected representative, I sympathise with the decision to dissolve

As an elected representative, I sympathise with the decision to dissolve the division because the members were responsible for my victory in the last general election.” – Mohd Radzhi Salleh

the division because the members were responsible for my victory in the general election,” he said, reports Bernama. Mohd Radzhi, who beat S. Ananthan of Barisan Nasional by 10,323 votes last year, said 14 divisional committee members and 200 ordinary members supported the division’s dissolution. “I am no longer prepared to be in PKR because I feel responsible along with the members and, as a division committee member, I am leaving the party in support of the decision,” he said. Mohd Radzhi, who denied that he was bought over, said he would continue to serve as an independent assemblyman and support the federal government. With the decision, the Kedah assem-

bly now has four PKR assemblymen, two of whom are also state executive councillors. PAS has 16 assemblymen, of whom seven are state executive councillors, and the DAP has one assemblyman. The Barisan Nasional has 14 assemblymen. In Kulim, Himanshu Bhatt reports that PKR supreme council member and Padang Serai MP N. Gobalakrishnan accused Mohd Radzhi of trying to sabotage PKR over the last year. “We have not even seen him in Lunas over the past year. Our grassroots members have been working overtime together with me to serve the people,” he said, when reacting to the bombshell. He said because of suspicious activities and actions of Mohd Radzhi, former Padang Serai division chief Musa Abu Hassan and Jamaluddin, PKR suspended the division last month. He said the timing of Mohd Radzhi’s announcement, two days before polling for the Permatang Pasir by-election, also raises suspicions.