KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 14 — DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang urged today for Parliament to honour slain lawyer Datuk Kevin Morais as well as the heroes and heroines who saved Malaysia from the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) corruption scandal.
The Iskandar Puteri MP said Morais deserves accolades for dedicating his life to fighting corruption.
But the call for a posthumous recognition of Morais’ work was also seemingly aimed at challenging the Opposition — Lim said there should be unanimous Parliament backing to honour those who exposed the 1MDB fiasco, including by MPs implicated in a rumoured attempt to block Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim from being prime minister.
“Parliament, which is reconvening next month, should honour Kevin Morais who gave his life in the battle against corruption and the heroes and heroines who saved Malaysia from the 1MDB kleptocracy,” Lim said in a statement.
“Opposition Members of Parliament especially from Muafakat Nasional say they support Mahathir’s premiership,” he added in reference to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“This will be a good test whether they support Mahathir and Pakatan Harapan’s commitment to transform Malaysia from a global kleptocracy to one of the top nations in the world in public integrity and the unremitting battle against corruption, especially the 1MDB scandal.”
Morais was last seen alive on September 4, when he left his residence in Segambut for work at the Attorney General’s Chambers in Putrajaya. A missing persons report was filed by his brother the following day.
Subsequently, former army pathologist Colonel Dr R. Kunaseegaran and five other men were accused of killing Morais, after it was believed the murder was committed to prevent Morais from pursuing Dr Kunaseegaran for corruption.
The former senior prosecutor was honoured posthumously two days ago for his efforts in fighting corruption by the Perdana International Anti-Corruption Champion Foundation (PIACCF), a foundation chaired by Dr Mahathir.
In the same statement, Lim acknowledged that corruption is still rampant in the country.
Malaysia ranked low in the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2019, in the 51st spot out of 180 countries with a score of 53 out of 100, despite that being one of the best scores the country has ever in the past 25 years.
The Iskandar Puteri MP then said public dissatisfaction over the problem is understandable, but argued that graft would have worsened if not for a change in government.
“If there had been no change of government on May 9, 2018, it would be impossible to effect a meaningful turnaround of the state of rampant corruption and kleptocracy,” he said.
He claimed this was a situation which the Opposition, particularly Muafakat Nasional, wants the country to revert to. Muafakat Nasional is the political alliance between Umno and PAS.
The two Opposition parties have repeatedly denied allegations of corruption.
