(May 14): Sarawak opposition leaders today urged chief minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem to suspend the assistant minister who is being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over alleged misuse of funds.

State PKR vice-chairman See Chee How said the assistant minister concerned should be relieved of his official duties while the corruption investigation is ongoing.

He also said the assistant minister should have the decency to temporarily step down to uphold the pledge of integrity he made in January.

The DAP similarly called for the assistant minister to be suspended from his office pending an investigation.

DAP state chairman Chong Chieng Jen, meanwhile, welcomed the MACC's move to freeze several bank accounts amounting to RM4 million belonging to the assistant minister pending the investigation.

He urged MACC to expedite its investigation “to ensure that justice is done”.

“MACC should give this matter its top priority and complete its investigation in the shortest of time.”

Chong said if the assistant minister is guilty, then he should be prosecuted, otherwise the commission would have to make a public statement to clear his name.

The MACC did not name the assistant minister it is investigating for “alleged corruption and abuse of power” in relation to the award of a RM250 million contract by the state's Baitulmal fund board.

Whistle-blower website, Sarawak Report, had since 2013 alleged that the assistant minister had used his position as minister in charge of Islamic affairs to award the multi-million ringgit project to build the Baitulmakmur II government building in Petra Jaya to his construction company, Eastbourne Corporation Bhd.

The assistant minister had in September 2013 denied the Sarawak Report allegations, claiming all contracts awarded by Baitulmal were above board.

He has since refused to make comments on the Sarawak Report allegation saying a report on the matter had been lodged with the MACC and he would leave it to the commission to make their findings.

MACC's investigation division’s chief Datuk Mohamad Jamidan Abdullah said in a statement yesterday that the assistant minister's bank account with a RM4 million deposit had been frozen and a “businessman in his 50s who is a director of the company involved in the construction of the Sarawak state government building” has been questioned and had statements taken.

He said more people could be questioned in connection with the investigation.

Chong said no matter how one looks at it, RM4 million cash in a bank account is “a lot of money for an assistant minister”.

“I am sure the person under investigation is not alone. It is likely that many of his colleagues will have similar amounts, if not more.”

He said now that Sarawak has a case of an assistant minister having cash in bank “beyond the means of the salary and allowances of an assistant minister, it is not a baseless demand that the state cabinet ministers and assistant ministers make public disclosure of their assets and bank accounts for public scrutiny”.

“Mere disclosure of assets and bank accounts to the chief minister would not be sufficient because it will only strengthen the absolute power and control of one man over the rest of the cabinet, thereby enhancing the notion of rule by man rather than rule by system.

“To achieve true and lasting reforms in government administration, Adenan should put in place a system that is transparent and open to public scrutiny rather than a system that gives the chief minister a stronger control over his ministers and assistant ministers.” – The Malaysian Insider