by Wong Choon Mei
Thousands of miles away, French lawyer Joseph Breham is
putting the final touches to a presentation he will make tonight in London.
There he is due to speak to an international audience, updating them with the
latest in the high-profile investigation into kickbacks allegedly paid by arms
giant DCN to Malaysian officials including Prime Minister Najib Razak.
Breham is a member of The Solicitors International Human
Rights Group (SIHRG), which has been appointed by Malaysian NGO Suaram to
represent it in its complaint filed against DCN in Paris in early 2010.
The Scorpene kickbacks scandal is but the tip of the ice-berg
in a bigger case of corruption involving international procurement of military
hardware. Not only has DCN been accused of bribing Malaysian officials to
secure deals, but similar probes are also going on in Taiwan and Pakistan. But
in London, on Friday night, the focus will be on Malaysia.
Breham is expected to touch on the complex commercial trail
in the RM7 billion acquisition, in which Najib as the then Defense minister had
sanctioned the purchase of two second-hand Scorpene and one Agosta submarines.
At
first there was Baginda and Perimekar
Interwoven into the Malaysian deal is Najib's close
friend Razak Baginda, who allegedly acted as his proxy in the acquisition, and
Altantuya Shaariibuu, a beautiful Mongolian lady who was a translator for
Baginda. She was also his lover and allegedly Najib's mistress before that. But
sadly, she was killed in 2006 in Kuala Lumpur by two of the PM's former body
bodyguards.
An obscure and tiny firm controlled by Baginda's wife,
Perimekar, had acted as the go-between for the procurement of the subs by the
Malaysian Defence ministry. For its work, Perimekar was paid 114 million euros
or RM570 million but the word 'commission' was barred, and in the Malaysian
Parliament, the term used to justfy the huge payment to Perimekar was for its
"coordination and support" services.
"I feel there is no
need to bring the matter to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission because
the deal was approved by the Finance Ministry, and the purchase of the
submarines was in accordance with procurement procedures," current Defense
minister Zahid Hamidi was quoted as saying in the Star in July 2010.
Such is the situation in Malaysia where ministers owe
allegiance first to the head honcho of the day, then to their own political
party and limping in last would be the Malaysian public. This was one of the
reasons why Suaram was forced to make its complaint overseas after failing to
make headway in Malaysia.
In
deep trouble
But the NGO's crusade against big-time corruption may
be starting to reap some benefit. Najib's Umno party is starting to feel the
heat. Its supreme council leaders are starting to feel uncomfortable when asked
by their own countrymen, distinguised world leaders, and business
globetrotters, why does Umno condone such visible and large-scale corruption?
RM570 million is no small amount, and more bad news is still
to come. Malaysia ends up with exorbitantly-priced submarines that do not suit
its territorial waters and worst still, there is a hefty maintenance bill that
may eventually push the full cost of the Scorpenes to more than double its
original RM7 billion price tag.
"Najib has been give
ample time to explain himself but all he has done is to deport William Bourdon.
If he was not guilty, he should be the first to call for a public inquiry to
clear his own good name but he hasn't and this in itself is telling," PKR
vice president Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.
"By now, the scandal is simply too huge to cover up.
Umno may be putting on a brave face until the 13th general election is over
before they begin to oust Najib. But the damage done to the party's image is
irreparable. That his peers in the party can sit there and allow such
shenanigans to go on is not only unconscionable but they should also be
blacklisted for being a party to it, whether directly or indirectly."
Lodin
Wok and the Scorpenes gravy train
A diplomatic cable from the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur
revealed by WikiLeaks earlier this year contained a list of Najib's friends,
who had some role or other in the 2002 Scorpenes purchase.
One of them is Lodin Wok Kamaruddin, chief of the Armed
Forces Fund Board or Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera (LTAT). Now, Lodin
has rubbished the speculation that he too may have been one of Najib's private
proxies on the Scorpenes gravy train, but he fails to clear the air sufficiently.
Lodin did not only sit on Perimekar's board as a
representative of LTAT as he claimed, but his name has also surfaced in the
board of a firm called BHIC that took over Perimekar's 'coordination and
support services' contract from 2010 onwards.
Was this 'corporate tranfer' effected because it had become
too 'hot' for Perimekar? Also, why was the 'coordination and support services'
contract extenuated and taken over by Lodin's new firm? Is the Perimekar's 114
million euros just an initial payment? Are there more on the way?
Mighty questions deserving of mighty answers. Perhaps, Breham
will shed some light on this tonight.
BHIC
takes over from Perimekar?
Meanwhile, let's look again at Lodin Wok Kamaruddin. In
addition to his position in LTAT, Lodin Wok is deputy chairman of Boustead
Holdings Bhd. These two companies had held 20% each of Perimekar shares through
the holding of KS Ombak Laut Sdn Bhd. The remaining 60% is held by KS Ombak
Laut.
According to Perimekar financial statements, Lodin Wok is one
of the five directors of Perimekar, alongside Baginda's wife Mazlinda Makhzan,
Rozana Abdullah Meili, Abdul Rani Mohd Hussin Abdullah and Mohd Hussin Tamby.
Lodin also used to sit on the board of the Affin Bank Bhd, which had been one of
Perimekar’s bankers.
This string of “coincidences” alone could place the
61-year-old businessman in an difficult position regarding the submarines
deals. However, when contacted for comment, Lodin Wok said he had resigned from
Perimekar board on July 1, 2010 after the company completed its contract with
the government upon the delivery of the two Scorpene submarines. He added that
he was a director in the company as a representative of LTAT.
But Perimekar is not the only Malaysian company being
involved in the Scorpene deal. And Lodin Wok's involvement may be deeper than
he claims. He is the chairman of BHIC or Boustead Heavy Industries Corporation
Defencec.
And BHIC's unit, Boustead DCNS Naval Corp, was awarded a
RM532 million contract related to the Scorpene submarines by the Defense
ministry. The company now undertakes service support of Scorpene submarines
from 2010 to 2015. Boustead DCNS Naval Corp is a 60:40 joint venture between
BHIC Defence Technologies and the French-based DCNS, started in 2009.
“Lodin was the main character when Najib was Defence Minister
when the transaction was done in 2002,” said PKR secretary-general Saifuddin
Nasution.
Due to rising prices and to cushion the people
from a recession about to blow in, the Najib administration had promised to
allocate more money to the people and cut arms spending. In 2010, Najib
approved a budget allocation of RM9.1 billion to the Defense ministry or a
decrease of RM 1.5 billion from 2009. However, in 2011, the figure was jacked
up again to RM11 billion, following an additional allocation of nearly RM500
million due to 'under-estimation' of service costs for the controversial
Scorpenes.
Was this due to the BHIC deal?
Source : MC
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