Allow White Paper for the sake of justice and transparency – CigMa

KOTA KINABALU: The approval for the production of the white Paper on the infamous Saham Amanah Sabah scandal, should be left to the decision of the members of the State Legislative Assembly, not to the sole discretion of the Speaker.

The Chairman of the Common Interest Group (CigMa), En. Daniel John Jambun said this in statement here in response to the statement of the Speaker of the State Legislative Assembly, Datuk Salleh Tun Said who said it was up to him whether to go ahead with the White Paper on the matter or not.

“By saying it is up to him, Salleh is being dictatorial and is not allowing for the due process in the spirit of transparency and integrity,” Jambun said. “By the tone of his words we can discern that he is already planning to kill the motion which will be made by SAPP.”

“We understand that the Speaker holds the power to control procedures, even to decide on who should speak in the house,” Jambun added. “But in this case due consideration must be given to the fact that the SAS issue has been dragging on for almost 20 years without any clear answer as to what caused the massive losses to the 55,000 investors.”

He reminds that the issue must be resolved and the best way to do that is through a White Paper. “But I find it strange that all the BN leaders who have spoken on the issue have rejected the proposal for a White Paper for unknown reasons,” he said. “Because of this the people cannot be blamed for thinking that certain leaders are trying to hide something.”

He said that if the BN leaders are innocent and sincerely wanting to solve the issue for the sake of the investors and the people of Sabah, they should be eagerly seeking to start a proper investigation towards the production of a White Paper before the next general election.

“If the honourable Speaker proceeds to kill the motion by SAPP, he must then explain the reason and why such a move is to the best interest of the people of Sabah,” he said. “And thereafter BN leaders must also be morally responsible and stop trying to put the blame on Datuk Yong Teck Lee for the disastrous failure of SAS. They should then blame themselves for blocking efforts by SAPP to get to the truth of the matter.”