“Mana bukti?” (Where’s the proof?) …… that used to be the constant response of Mahathir Mohamad during his premiership, when told about the serious corruption taking place during his administration.

He claims that he can’t act without the proof!

Well, his memoirs, ‘Doctor in the House’, has given a deep insight to how he views corruption in the first place?

He mentions about corruption charges against the then Chief Minister of Selangor, Dato Harun Idris, and his attempts to get him ‘off the hook’ by appealing to the then PM, Hussein Onn.

Even with the irrefutable evidence ‘thrown to him’ by Hussein Onn, Mahathir was still adamant about helping Harun.

Good thing Hussein Onn did not relent!

Now that was when Mahathir was the Deputy Prime Minister.

When he became Prime Minister, he was given loads of evidence by the likes of then Auditor General, Ahmad Nordin and then ACA Director-General, Shafee Yahaya.

And how were they responded to by Mahathir?

Ahmad Nordin was given a ‘ticking off’ by Mahathir and treated a pariah until his retirement ….. for Ahmad Nordin’s insistence on submitting the report on the BMF Finance scandal to the Cabinet.

Ahmad Nordin was the chairman of the three member panel that included Chooi Mun Sou (lawyer) and Ramli Ibrahim (partner at KPMG) that found serious wrong doings that implicated many. I recall the report having been signed by only Ahmad Nordin and Chooi.

As to why Ramli Ibrahim did not sign the report, we can only speculate …… but we know that KPMG are the auditors of Petronas!

Makes you wonder if the setting up of the Auditors Oversight Board in Malaysia recently is the culmination of all the compromises that auditors in Malaysia had given all those years!!

As for Shafee Yahaya (ex Director General of the Anti Corruption Agency), he testified in court that Mahathir was interfering with the investigations of the ACA involving the then Director General of the Economic Planning Unit, Ali Abul Hassan … something that Mahathir even mentioned in his book, which of course, about the bit on interference, he denied.

Not many people would do what Ahmad Nordin and Shafee Yahaya have done.

They are the decent people whom, many have claimed, have since been replaced by ‘Subservient Commoners’ that appear to be all  around us!

So what Mahathir has perpetuated is like a disease that has spiraled uncontrollably it has become a norm ….. instead of an exception.

Can or will Najib eliminate it or will it be ‘Business as Usual……Mahathir style’?

UPDATE (26 March 2011) : Click HERE for an insight to Mahathir’s ‘selective re-collection’ and apparent lie telling (in his memoirs) relating to Shafee Yahaya being castigated by Mahathir’ for investigating the then Director General of the Economic Planning Unit.