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Two inquiries
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» ROYAL PANEL ON MACC’S INVESTIGATION METHODS
» MAGISTRATE’S INQUEST INTO CAUSE OF HIS DEATH
by Husna Yusop
newsdesk@thesundaily.com
UTRAJAYA: A royal commis-
P sion of inquiry will examine
the methods used by Malaysian
Anti-Corruption Commission
(MACC) to question suspects and
witnesses to determine if human
rights were violated in the case of
Teoh Beng Hock.
A separate inquest headed by a
magistrate will determine the cause
of political aide Teoh’s death last
Thursday, the cabinet decided at its
weekly meeting yesterday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib
Abdul Razak said the inquiry will
not be confined to just MACC’s probe
of Teoh, but also its investigation
practices.
“A royal commission will be set
up with specific terms to scrutinise
and look into the interrogation
methods used by the MACC to see
whether there were any elements
of human rights violation during
Teoh’s interrogation.
“This is to ensure similar cases
would not happen in future,” he
said (more reports page 2).
The death of Teoh, 30, the
political aide to Selangor New Village
Development and Illegal Factory
Task Force Committee chairman
Ean-Yong Hian Wah, raised a public
outcry. His body was discovered on
Member of Audit Bureau of Circulations (Malaysia)
» UK makes filing of false MP claims an offence pg8
a fifth floor landing of Plaza Masa-
lam. He is believed to have fallen
from the 14th floor where the state
MACC office is located.
Teoh, who was to register his
marriage last Friday, was ques-
tioned for close to 11 hours as a wit-
ness over alleged misuse of funds by
Pakatan Rakyat exco members.
Expressing condolences to
Teoh’s family, Najib said the cabinet
discussion took note of everyone’s
views and has declared to seek out
the truth. He said although the pub-
lic have called for a royal commis-
sion to investigate Teoh’s death, the
Criminal Procedure Code provides
for an inquest.
The prime minister, who
returned on Tuesday from Saudi
Arabia, also announced that:
» The findings of the police inves-
tigation will be made public. The
police could wrap up investigations
in a few days.
» He will inform Teoh’s family the
outcome of the investigation once
he has obtained certain findings.
He urged all parties to be patient
and refrain from making statements
which can create wrong perceptions
or which can confuse the public.
“To find out the truth in this case,
we should not mix it with political
interests or elements. The process of
investigation will be forthright and
transparent. We regard every hu-
30 SEN for delivery to your doorstep
TELLING IT AS IT IS
man life to be sacrosanct,” he said.
» The magistrate will decide on
the time-frame for the inquest.
» The MACC’s investigation into
alleged misappropriation of alloca-
tions by some Selangor assembly-
men will continue.
» The MACC officers who
questioned Teoh “have not been
suspended but the lead investigator
has been reassigned to the head-
quarters”.
On another matter, Najib said no
decision was taken yesterday about
raising the electricity tariff.
“We have to look deeper into this.
The price of gas has gone up and the
amount of subsidy that Petronas has
to fork out is in the region of RM6.4
billion a year,” he said.
The Energy, Green Technology
and Water Ministry said in a state-
ment yesterday the present electric-
ity tariffs stay until year-end.
Najib said as a result of his visit
to Saudi Arabia, he has suggested
that Maxis be relisted on Bursa
Malaysia to add more liquidity to
the market and create enthusiasm
among investors about Malaysia’s
capital market.
“They (would) have a large port-
folio to invest in a company that is
well managed. So hopefully, it would
happen fairly soon,” he said, adding
that Maxis has been informed and is
considering it seriously.
2009 AWARDS
Award winning newspaper
for excellence in
investigative reporting
No. 4808 PP 2644/12/2009 (023092)
Thursday
July 23, 2009
www.sun2surf.com
» Claws alive pg18
Century’s longest
solar eclipse darkens Asia
A TOTAL solar eclipse yesterday
swept across a narrow swathe of Asia,
where hundreds of millions of people
watched the skies darken, though in
some places thick summer clouds
blocked the sun.
The longest total solar eclipse
of the 21st century cut through the
world’s most populous nations, India
and China, as it travelled half the globe.
It was visible along a 250km-wide cor-
ridor, space agency Nasa said.
In India, where eclipse supersti-
tions are rife, people snaked through
the narrow lanes of the holy city of
Varanasi and gathered for a dip in the
Ganges, an act believed to bring re-
lease from the cycle of life and death.
Amid chanting of hymns, thousands
of men, women and children waded
into the river with folded hands and
prayed to the sun as it emerged in an
overcast sky.
“We have come here because our
Entertainment
REUTERSPIC
Rare sight ...
residents on
the peak of
Malu Mountain
in Guangzi,
China, watch
as the eclipse
starts its flight.
elders told us this is the best time
to improve our afterlife,” said Bhailal
Sharma, a villager from central India
travelling in a group of about 100.
But for one 80-year-old woman
the trip was fatal. Police said she died
from suffocation in the crowd.
The eclipse next swept through
Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar
and over the crowded cities along
China’s Yangtze River, before heading
to the Pacific. In Hindu-majority Nepal,
the government declared a public holi-
day and thousands headed for water.
In central China crowds gathered
along the high dykes of Wuhan, roar-
ing and waving goodbye as the last
sliver of sun disappeared, plunging the
city into darkness.
The eclipse lasted up to a maximum
of 6 minutes, 39 seconds over the Pa-
cific Ocean. It is the longest eclipse of
this century and will not be surpassed
until June 13, 2132. – Reuters