Business as usual despite Alcatel scandal – The Malaysian Insider
So it is with some surprise to learn that the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) today requested the media today not to speculate about the scandal.
“MACC views the allegations very seriously and will verify with the parties concerned to obtain details of the allegations before appropriate action can be taken. MACC seeks the cooperation of the media to not speculate before the details of this claim can be verified,” the MACC corporate communications unit said in a statement.
Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) was a bit more prepared. It had a holding statement and vowed to investigate the matter if something wrong had occurred as discovered by the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Justice Department on Monday.
Would TM like Malaysians (only those who are offended by corrupt practices) to believe that the report coming out of the US is the first time it is coming across any allegations of impropriety of this kind involving Alcatel?
Problem is that such a position is a stretch even for Malaysians who have been served nonsense for decades by the government and government-linked companies.
When the chairman of an audit committee resigns over any deal, it should raise red flags.
In this case, The Malaysian Insider has reported that Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed resigned as audit committee chairman over alleged irregularities over the Alcatel deal.
This move should have led to a major probe. It did not.
Even Khazanah Nasional Bhd, a major shareholder and supposedly the paragon of corporate governance, did diddly squat. Fact is, the same officials who have oversight are also the executives in the telecoms conglomerate, raising the issue of a conflict of interest in such matters.
But now having been caught with its pants down, it wants to all of a sudden get serious about investigating the Alcatel scandal
Actually this reaction should not surprise us. It is only the tip of the iceberg of the rubbish that goes on daily in government agencies and GLCs, all the green and yellow books notwithstanding.
Can we expect heads to roll or for the head honchos to be accountable? No.
Not when the MACC says they are mere allegations despite the SEC fining Alcatel US$137 million for the offences. Perhaps the local authorities believe that the SEC and Justice Department are nothing but cowboys working out their frontier justice.
Until the MACC and Khazanah take action to ensure those guilty are brought to justice and corporate governance is observed in GLCs, it will remain business as usual in Malaysia.
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