DAP Abused State Allocations?

As far as I'm concerned, the fact that our enemies in BN and its instruments like the MACC have to resort to poison pen letters and anonymous blog postings to defame DAP, and to accuse it of corruption, cannot be greater proof that the MACC has completely failed in its attempt to find corrupt activities by our MPs and state assemblymen over the past year or so.

MACC, and before that the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) has been on our tails for more than a year, under clear directives from their Barisan Nasional paymasters to detect corruption among DAP ADUNs and MPs. Everything we do, they go through with a fine toothcomb. And despite the assistance of many existing civil servants whose loyalties are still with the deposed BN Selangor government by providing countless documents and information, MACC has until today been unable to put up any case against us.

The best evidence of this is the fact that despite the vast powers in the hands of the Menteri Besar to allocate, alienate and approve land and development projects, all the MACC could do was announce with great brouhaha that they found evidence of corruption when a state agency donated cows to the poor, and that he claimed petrol expenses for his car (which he uses as his official car).

It is the sheer exasperation of BN and MACC that Teoh Beng Hock and many others had to endure hours of torturous interrogation to explain simple expenses like spending RM2,400 on flags as part of a Merdeka Day celebration. And for that, Sdr Teoh paid with his life.

And it is of greater proof of their desperation when they now have to concoct outright lies to damage our reputation, lies which could not be substantiated and proven in the court of law. BN believes in the principle that if you lie often enough, then people will take it as the truth, and this is exactly what they are doing now, in order to tarnish the image of the party.

Below is the full statement by Ean Yong Hian Wah and Ronnie Liu, state executive councillors of the Selangor Government on the controversy created by the latest anonymous poison blogpost packed with half-truths and untruths to lie to the public, and defame both of them as well as the party.

Joint Media Statement by DAP Selangor Excos, Ean Yong Hian Wah and Ronnie Liu in Petaling Jaya on 25 July 2009

A REBUTTAL OF THE OUTRAGEOUS AND MALICIOUS ALLEGATIONS OF MISUSE OF STATE ALLOCATIONS BY RONNIE LIU & EAN YONG

The outrageous claims made in a blog article alleging misuse of state allocations by two of us is a malicious attempt to defame members of the Selangor state Exco members and to mislead the public and to discredit the state leadership.

It is a fact that all such allocations are approved and paid by the Land Office. These payments are usually approved and signed for by the Assistant District Officer on behalf of the District Officer. Payment is then made to the approved recipients. In the process, all payments must be properly supported by documents. Thus in these cases, all payments are fully supported by vouchers, receipts, invoices and photographic evidence of the programme or the project concerned.

This system has been in place for many years and was handed down from previous Barisan Nasional administrations.

Since early this year, full details of all such payments had been posted on Ronnie Liu's blog with full details such as the programme dates, the amounts and cheque numbers, and the relevant receipts.

The allegations contained in the blog article contain many flaws and mistakes that indicate the article was posted with malicious intent and with no regard for the truth. Chief of these is the allegation that a recipient of the funds, Wong Chuan How is a contractor and reportedly was a major beneficiary of projects and contracts award by Ronnie Liu.

Wong is in fact a special assistant to Liu and also a Sepang councilor.
Some cheques were made out to him as he handled miscellaneous payments in connection with some projects and programmes. These payments are also documented and supported with receipts and vouchers which may be inspected if necessary.

Some of the programmes listed relate to the periods before March 2008, so how can two of us have had access to state allocation funds then when they had not been elected as assemblymen yet?

Some of the programmes and projects listed in the article are fictitious and non-existent. For example, the allegation that funds were disbursed to buy hampers for village chiefs in Seberang Perai is far fetched as the Land Office in Selangor would never approve funds for programmes outside the constituency let alone outside the state.

The allegations that DAP takes a commission from all the payments is also ludicrous as the amounts are paid in full to the recipients and there has been no complaint on this to date. These scurrilous allegations are of course, completely unsubstantiated.

In making payment, the Land Office verifies the expenditures and would only authorise payments when there is proper supporting documentation.

The writer of the article has to date not produced any proof of his allegations.

Why are the DAP Exco members singled out for this allegations? Is there a political ploy afoot to discredit the state government?

We demand that the offending blog article be withdrawn immediately and an apology be tendered to both of us, failing which further action deemed fit should be taken.

Perhaps we should remind the public that the reports and complaints that state allocations to Barisan Nasional assemblymen in 2008 were exhausted within the first two months of the year, including a case where an assemblyman spent RM220,000 in a day!


RONNIE LIU & EAN YONG HIAN WAH