What the case is really all about?

The ‘mistake’ Ramli made was that he engaged a solicitor to draft the official reply to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). The ACA then pounced on the solicitor and asked him to declare his assets as well. The solicitor wrote back seeking further clarification but the ACA did not respond to the query. Instead, they arrested him.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER  |  Raja Petra Kamarudin

On Monday, lawyer Rosli Dahlan will be in court to face a charge of not responding to an ACA (now MACC) letter. They have made it look like Rosli has violated the law by not declaring his assets when asked to do so. The question is: why should Rosli declare his assets when he is merely the lawyer acting for former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department Director Datuk Ramli Yusuff?

This was never explained. The MACC went for Rosli without explaining why they are doing so. They just sent him a letter asking him to declare his assets without any explanation as to why he needs to declare his assets. When Rosli responded to their letter by asking for further clarification, instead of replying, they came to arrest him on the eve of Hari Raya. And they arrested him in his office in front of his staff. And they roughed him up when they handcuffed him resulting in injury.

Okay, they did not throw him out of the window like they did Teoh Beng Hock. But was all this necessary?

This is what The Star reported:

Lawyer charged with hiding information on his assets

Lawyer Rosli Dahlan was charged at a Sessions Court here with not disclosing all information on his assets in his sworn statement last month.

Rosli, 46, a partner in Lee Hishammuddin Allen & Gledhill, was alleged to have not complied with the terms of a notice dated July 17, 2007, issued by the Prosecutor under Section 32(1)(b) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1997, to give full information relating to his assets.

Under the notice, the date of which had been extended to Aug 16, he was required to disclose all information, written under oath. (Read more here: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/10/13/courts/19161639&sec=courts)

Of course, the real issue is they wanted to get Ramli Yusuff. And why do they want to get Ramli Yusuff? Because they want to eliminate any possible successor to the IGP.

You see, the IGP was supposed to retire in August 2007. So that would make Ramli his possible successor. But if they can get rid of Ramli then there would no longer be any ‘suitable successor’. And this would mean the IGP could get an extension of service for an indefinite period of time.

The issue is simple. Musa Hassan must stay. And for him to stay then Ramli has to go. But there is a small problem getting rid of Ramli. They had already fixed him up with allegations of not declaring RM27 million in assets (not for acquiring those assets but for not declaring them). But along came Rosli who presented a brilliant defence that threatened to thwart their plan to get rid of Ramli.

They therefore had to come out with a new game plan. To get rid of Ramli and make sure he goes to jail they must first bring down Rosli.

And that was the beginning of Rosli’s problems, added to the irritation Rosli and Ramli posed by digging up the losses of RM8 billion suffered by MAS that we talked about earlier.

And as follows was what was written about the matter two years ago:

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The land of Walt Disney

Today, after many months of ‘rumours’, Datuk Ramli Yusuff, the Director of the Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID), is finally being charged. And he is facing four ‘Mickey Mouse’ charges that would make even Walt Disney proud.

Initially, it was ‘leaked’ that Ramli is being investigated for accumulating RM27 million in assets which he did not declare. He was then given a month to submit his full statement of income and expenditure over 37 years since 1970. Understandably, it is humanly impossible for anyone to account for his or her last 37 months income and expenditure, let alone the last 37 years. Nevertheless, Ramli managed to submit his full statement of accounts prepared by no less than a qualified accountant.

The ‘mistake’ Ramli made was that he engaged a solicitor to draft the official reply to the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA). Being a man learned in law, Ramli decided not to do what Raja Petra Kamarudin had done, and that is to represent himself -- as the court would normally say, “a man who represents himself has a fool for a client”. He decided instead to engage a solicitor to handle what appeared to be the beginning of a very messy legal tangle.

The ACA then pounced on the solicitor and asked him to declare his assets as well. The solicitor wrote back seeking further clarification but the ACA did not respond to the query. When the deadline expired, the ACA came to the solicitor’s office two days before Hari Raya and arrested him for non-compliance to the order that he declare his assets. The solicitor was roughed up and handcuffed in full view of the entire office as one would to a child rapist-killer. The ACA retorted that they are not obliged to reply to any query but those ordered to declare their assets are obligated to do so. It was a beautiful trap and the solicitor walked right into it and got snared. Let this be a lesson to the rest of us. When the ACA keeps quiet then that is bad news, as this solicitor found out the hard way.

The solicitor tried to talk to the ACA officers to allow him time to volunteer his presence at the ACA office but he was told that he needed to be arrested there and then and be brought in immediately. The matter just cannot wait, Hari Raya or no Hari Raya. On reaching the ACA office, the matter suddenly lost all urgency and the solicitor was locked up overnight in the lockup only to be attended to the following day. It appears like all they wanted to do was to lock him up for the night and not allow him to go home. The next day, they charged him for non-compliance to the order to declare his assets. So it was not really that urgent after all and his arrest could have waited until the next day.

Was the solicitor a government servant? Was he involved in corrupt practices? Had he received bribes for dishing out lucrative government contracts to Chinese businessmen? Was he on the payroll of the organised crime syndicates and had received millions as an inducement to turn a blind eye to the prostitution, loan sharking, drugs and illegal gambling rackets? No, this particular solicitor made the mistake of acting on behalf of the Director of the CCID.

Okay, the Federal Constitution of Malaysia says that every citizen is entitled to legal representation. And Ramli, being a citizen of Malaysia, is also entitled to legal representation. But any solicitor who represents him runs the risk of arrest. And this did happen to Rosli Dahlan who was stupid enough to think that it is the right of all Malaysians to defend themselves against criminal charges and who was stupid enough to actually act on behalf of Ramli.

Anyway, Rosli has since made a police report alleging that he was injured during his arrest. He has also launched a civil suit against the ACA. The ACA responded by making a counter police report alleging that Rosli was abusive during his arrest and therefore the reason to rough him up and injure him. This was the same reason given by one-time IGP Rahim Noor in explaining why he needed to beat Anwar Ibrahim to a pulp and leave him unconscious on the floor of the police lockup with no medical attention until the following day. And to add icing to the cake, Rosli’s case has been transferred to Bukit Aman where for sure this time they are going to nail his balls to the wall, side-by-side with Ramli’s balls.

Malaysia Today has been saying for a long time now that there are serious problems in the judiciary. The response from the government was that Malaysia Today spreads lies. Today, that ‘lie’ is a proven fact, which will be recorded in the history books. Since June this year, Malaysia Today has been saying that there are also serious problems in the police force. A series of 12 articles were published with Affidavits, letters, and other documents to support this allegation. Again, this was denied by the Deputy Minister of Internal Security and the IGP. And today, one of the more senior officers in the police force slotted to become the next IGP if the present one retires is facing four criminal charges.

But is he really guilty? Is he really a criminal as they say? One ex-IGP said, going just by their lifestyles alone, it can be assumed that 40% of the police force is corrupted. One ex-Deputy IGP, in turn, said that if they want to clean up the police force then at least 90% of the police officers will have to be sacked. And he is being kind, he said, if not then the figure would be close to 100%. That is what the ex-IGP and ex-Deputy IGP said and they should know.

Is this matter really about whether Ramli is a crook? Time will of course tell whether he is and we shall all soon enough know once the trial gets underway. But will it be in the form of the Altantuya murder trail or in the form of the Anwar Ibrahim corruption-sodomy trial? -- if you know what I mean, and if you don’t then I will not waste any time explaining as this would mean you are living the life of a frog under a coconut shell. Unfortunately, in Malaysia, a trial is not the correct reflection of guilt or innocence. The innocent can be sent to jail while the guilty walks free, even in cases such as murder. And this is why we need massive judicial reforms and this is also why the people profusely oppose the extension of the tenure of the Chief Justice -- who according to the Rulers’ wishes should have retired yesterday.

Ramli was initially investigated for not declaring RM27 million in assets. The four charges that he faces, however, make no mention of the RM27 million. Instead, he is alleged to have failed to declare small change. What was all this RM27 million about then? Why was this figure bandied about these last many months? And who leaked this figure? Somehow the press got wind of this figure so someone must have leaked it to the press. And it was certainly not Ramli because he had no inkling how this figure came about. We must therefore assume that it was the ‘other side’ that leaked it.

This one fact alone gives an impression that there is more than meets the eye here. This is not about a corrupted police officer. If it was, then Parliament would have to set up a special court like they did for the Rulers and about 50 new judges would have to be employed so that all the cases can be settled before all the judges, the accused, the AG and all witnesses die of old age. Yes, that would be how many police officers who will be put on trial.

Anyway, as I said earlier, this is not about whether Ramli is innocent or guilty. We will allow the court to decide that, as I am sure they will dispense justice now that they will be having a new boss (at least I am crossing my fingers and hoping that pigs can fly). What we want to know is whether this is a simple and cut-and-dry case of corruption or failure to declare assets or is this actually fallout from a turf war in the police force with two sides fighting for control of the very lucrative drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling and loan sharking business?

I am prepared to bet ten jugs of beer that this is not about cleaning out the police force or about eradicating corruption but is in actual fact a turf war to control the very lucrative drugs, prostitution, illegal gambling and loan sharking business. And I further bet that no one will dare take my bet. Yes, there is more than meets the eye. There is a sleight of hand, which even the great David Copperfield would find awesome. Malaysia Today is not about reporting the news. Malaysia Today is about telling the untold story. Malaysia Today is about exposing the shenanigans, excesses, transgressions and abuses perpetuated by those who walk in the corridors of power. Malaysia Today speaks without fear or favour. And Malaysia Today is going to get to the bottom of this charade and spill the beans for whatever it is worth. So stay tuned as there is more, much more, to come.

Until we next ‘talk’, adios muchachos!

(The ex-Victorians Community Blog Forum, 1 November 2007)

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Ex-CCID chief Ramli acquitted of abuse of power

Former Bukit Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusuff was acquitted by the Sessions Court here of abusing his public office two years ago.

He was accused of ordering and using a Royal Malaysia Police Cessna Caravan aircraft to take him on an aerial surveillance of two lots in Ulu Tungku, Lahad Datu, in which his real estate company Kinsajaya Sdn Bhd had a personal interest, on June 2007.

Judge Supang Lian in her ruling Monday held that Ramli had no case to answer as the prosecution had failed to establish a prima facie case against him.

“The accused thus deserves to be acquitted,” she said and ordered the RM20,000 bail and all evidence to be returned.

The 56-year-old Ramli was charged under Section 15(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act for abusing his public office through the unauthorised use of a police Cessna Caravan aircraft for pecuniary gain.

The charge provides for imprisonment not exceeding 20 years and a minimum fine of RM10,000 upon conviction.

The offence was allegedly committed at 7.50am on June 15, 2007, at the Sabah Police Air Unit in Tanjung Aru, here.

At Monday’s hearing, Ramli was represented by counsels Datuk Mohd Shafie Abdullah and James Tsai while the prosecution team was headed by Deputy Public Prosecutor Kevin Morais.

Among those who had testified during the trial was Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan. – The Star, 27 July 2009