Why Isn't Khairy Investigated by Companies Commission?

Pakatan Rakyat demands that Companies Commission of Malaysia act without fear or favour and charge all company directors who fail to have their company accounts submitted on a timely basis

The Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) and the Registrar of Societies (ROS) have become tools of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government to find fault with Suara Initiatif Sdn Bhd (SUARAM) using whatever means, ethical or otherwise possible.  The motive cannot be more obvious, that is an attempt to halt the current on-going court case in France where the BN leaders, including the Prime Minister himself, are implicated for corruption in the Scorpene submarines acquisition exercise.

The Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Datuk Ismail Sabri had the cheek to announce on 18th September 2012 that SUARAM will be charged in 2 days.  He said “e are initiating legal action based on the company’s reporting of its accounts, which is confusing… All kinds of things. It is misleading” without providing an iota of evidence.  The attempt was however rejected by the Attorney-General’s office the very next day for being “incomplete”.

Pakatan Rakyat has no problems with the authorities for going after companies who have broken the law.  However, it cannot be any clearer that in SUARAM’s case, the agencies, now even with the involvement of the police, are going on fishing expeditions to harrass the officers of the company in order to find some unknown fault with the company’s operations.

For the amount of effort and tax-payers’ resources put into the case, we would like to highlight 5 companies which have clearly run foul of the Companies Act 1965 for the longest time, and yet no action has been taken against them by CCM.

1. YGP Holdings Sdn Bhd has failed to file their audited accounts since 31 December 2006.  The company directors are UMNO Youth Chief and Member of Parliament for Rembau, Khairy Jamaluddin, Member of Parliament for Kota Belud, Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan.  The company shareholders include Minister of Defence, Dato’ Seri Zahid Hamidi.

2. National Aerospace and Defence Industries Sdn Bhd has failed to file their audited accounts since 31 December 2007, and yet the Government of Malaysia has last month granted their subsidiary a license to operate an airline in Malaysia launched by none other than the Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Razak himself.  The Chairman of the company is Tan Sri Gen (Rtd) Mohd Hashim bin Mohd Ali.

3. National Feedlot Corporation Sdn Bhd has failed to file their audited accounts since 31 December 2009, while Real Food Company Sdn Bhd and National Meat & Livestock Company Sdn Bhd have failed to file their since 30 June 2007.  The Directors of the company are family members of UMNO Wanita Chief and former Minister of Women, Family and Community Development – husband, Datuk Dr Mohd Salleh bin Ismail, as well as children, Wan Shahinur Izmir Mohd Salleh, Wan Shahinur Izran Mohd Salleh and Wan Izzana Fatimah Zabedah Mohd Salleh.

The directors of all these companies have hence run afoul of the Companies Act 1965 by failing to hold the company’s Annual General Meetings, file its Annual Returns to the Registrar of Companies together with their Audited Financial Report.

Clause 169(1) of the Companies Act says that “the directors of every company shall, at some date not later than eighteen months after the incorporation of the company and subsequently once at least in every calendar year at intervals of not more than fifteen months, lay before the company at its annual general meeting a profit and loss account for the period since the preceding account (or in the case of the first account, since the incorporation of the company) made up to a date not more than six months before the date of the meeting.

Under Clause 171(1), the Act dictates imprisonment for 5 years or RM30,000 “if any director of a company fails to comply or to take all reasonable steps to secure compliance by the company with the foregoing provisions of this Division or has by his own wilful act been the cause of any default by the company thereunder, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.”

Why is it that CCM has failed to act against these companies related to top UMNO personalities? Given the CCM’s sudden assertiveness in exercising their authority by going on fishing expeditions against entities which are fighting for the rights of all Malaysians, we demand that CCM take immediate action against all of the companies listed above and bring all of their directors to Court.

If the CCM fails to act without fear or favour, then we will submit a motion to deduct RM10 from the salaries of the Minister of Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism as well as the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) chief executive officer Mohd Naim Daruwish in the current 2013 Budget sitting.