I asked Customs to close one eye: Jasin MP

Beh Lih Yi | Malaysiakini | 4 May 2006, 7:06pm
 

BN member of parliament for Jasin Mohd Said Yusof has admitted that he had asked the Malacca Customs and Excise office to 'close one eye' in a case involving the import of sawn timber which had breached the regulations, but argued he was not abusing his power.

In a front-page report in the New Straits Times today, Said — who was not identified in the report — was said to have interfered in the seizure of illegal sawn timber from Indonesia at Sungai Linggi recently. The report said his request was rejected by the custom officials.

The report triggered the unexpected resignation of Backbenchers Club chief Shahrir Samad this morning after fellow backbenchers did not join him in supporting an opposition motion to refer the NST report to the parliamentary Privileges Committee for investigation.

At the Parliament lobby this morning, Said said: "I went there to appeal of behalf of an agent who had approached me. I appealed to custom officials not to seize the timber, just compound the matter. The allowed size is 60 inches but if it was slightly more than that, just close on eye-lah, that's common."

The Malaysian Timber Industrial Board only allows the import of sawn timber with a cross-section of less than 60 inches, but the Jasin MP argued that if there are holes in the timber, leniency should be allowed if the cross-section is slightly more than the stipulated size.

Runs a business

Claiming it was 'not a big matter', he added: "It is normal matter. It is like you're driving on the highway where the speed limit is 110km per hour. But you drive at 150km per hour, and you're stopped by the police. What would you do? You will say 'please, sir' (ask for leniency)".

He said he had gone to the customs office to deal with the matter as the consignment of timber was seized at the Sungai Rambai Port which falls under his constituency.

"I went there to appeal on behalf of the agent but coincidentally, I have some interests as I've been running a freight forwarding agency since the 1990s. I went there to appeal because many people were making noise over it," he said, stressing that this should not be deemed as an abuse of power.

When asked whether he went to the Customs office in his capacity as a MP, he replied: "That's up to their interpretation [...] Malacca is not so big, they know I am a MP. But it is a misinterpretation to say I interfered in the seizure of the sawn timber."

The Jasin MP, who has criticised customs and excise department director-general Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid as a 'publicity hound' in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday also suggested that NST's front-page report today was a 'tit-for-tat' by the custom department against him.

'Different cases'

"Actually we criticise anyone in Parliament, be it the premier, deputy premier or ministers. We criticise for the benefit of the people. So when I criticise the customs DG, is it wrong? The customs DG shouldn't take it personally," he said.

"What I raised in Parliament has nothing to do with what happened in Malacca, nothing at all [...] they are different cases," he said, adding that he has received complaints from forwarding agencies over the customs department.

Asked if he would have supported the opposition motion to let the privileges committee probe the NST report, he said he might have if had been present in the House. He said he would not table a similar motion.

Said said Shahrir resignation had caught him by surprise and he hoped the BBC head would change his mind.

Shahrir quits as BBC chief in a huff

Beh Lih Yi | Malaysiakini | 4 May 2006, 11:56am
 

The House was shocked when veteran politician Shahrir Abdul Samad (BN-Johor Baru) dropped a bombshell this morning.

He staged a walk-out and announced his resignation as the Backbenchers Club (BBC) head after failing to win the backing of his fellow backbenchers.

Shahrir left the House when the backbenchers refused to join him in supporting an opposition motion to refer a media report — which claimed an MP had attempted to misuse his powers — to the parliamentary Privileges Committee for investigation.

"I am disappointed that the backbenchers did not support this motion. I had hoped that they would because it was meant to safeguard the autonomy of Parliament and the dignity of MPs," said the teary-eyed BBC head when he announced his resignation.

It is now up to Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also the BN whip, to decide whether to accept the resignation.

Shahrir was appointed to lead the BBC after the 2004 general election.

'Close one eye'

The motion which started the ball rolling was tabled by Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang at the outset of the sitting.

The motion, known as a privilege motion, under standing order 26(1)(P) concerns matters of privileges among members of the House.

In tabling his motion, Lim referred to a New Straits Times front-page report today which claimed that an MP — whom it did not name — had asked the Customs and Excise Department to 'close one eye' regarding a case involving the importing of illegal sawn timber in Malacca.

According to the report, the MP went to the Malacca Customs office last month to ask the department to show leniency towards a company which had imported the timber. His request was rejected.

The MP, identified as Mohd Said Yusof (BN-Jasin) today denied that he has abused his power as alleged but conceded that he did meet the Customs people in Malacca.

Meanwhile, Lim — in his motion — argued that since the matter concerned a member of the House, it should be dealt with by the Privileges Committee.

However, Ahmad Zainuddin Omar (BN-Larut) opposed the motion, saying that the allegation was a 'one-sided story'.

"As we know, this motion can be exploited by certain quarters, especially the opposition. We don't want this motion to turn into an issue that will allow the opposition to gain political advantage in the (Sarawak state) elections," he added.

Mohamed Aziz (BN-Sri Gading) agreed. He said if the allegation was true, then a police report should be lodged

Lim dismissed this, arguing that an external investigation is not necessary when the House has an internal mechanism to investigate the matter.

At this juncture, Shahrir stood up and told the House that he supported Lim's stand.

"The Privileges Committee is a tool that allows us to manage our own affairs. The committee can call the relevant witnesses to testify and only when the process is completed, we will make a decision," he said.

But when the matter was put to vote, the motion was rejected and a dejected Shahrir left the House.

Decision stands

Met by reporters later, Shahrir said he would not change his mind about the resignation.

"They (backbenchers) don't understand it. I have explained why I supported the motion. If the majority of backbenchers think otherwise, then I should go," he added.

Shahrir clarified that he was not supporting the opposition but merely discharging his duty as a MP to uphold the principle that Parliament should protect its integrity and be allowed to manage its own affairs.

"My role as MP has always been consistent, to protect the rights of a member of the House, I want Parliament to be a place where MPs are respected, I encourage MPs to learn about this subject," he said.

At a separate press conference this afternoon, BBC deputy chief Ahmad Zainuddin said the club held an emergency meeting and unanimously agreed to urge Shahrir to reconsider his decision.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz, at another press conference, also called on Shahrir to retract his resignation and reminded him to respect the majority decision in the House.

"I hope he doesn't think that (when backbenchers do not join him) the backbenchers are casting aspersions on his leadership. The motion is too general and usually, we don't support a motion tabled by the opposition," said the minister, who oversees parliamentary affairs.

Kit Siang is angry

On the other hand, Lim said he was angry about the whole issue and was not shocked with Shahrir's decision.

"I am angry, he is angry too on all these nonsense over parliamentary independence, autonomy, credibility and integrity. It's a shameful day for Parliament.

"The motion is not to cast aspersion on anybody. If it is untrue, we can clear the concerned MP's name, clear Parliament's name and show that we have integrity, we don't hide under parliamentary privilege. Whereas if it's true, then we take action," he added.

A number of backbenchers when approached also registered surprise and shock over Shahrir's decision.