Works Minister S Samy Vellu said Syarikat Puncak Niaga has been awarded the concession to replace old pipes in the Klang Valley. He said many of the old pipes are leaking and it is costing the federal government RM500 million to put in "new and durable" pipes.

This answer to a question in Parliament by Teresa Kok (DAP-Seputeh) begs more questions when it is juxtaposed with an unusual donation amounting to RM1 million by Puncak Niaga official to Samy Vellu during a MIC function not very long ago. (The presentation of the mock cheque was covered by alocal TV channel).

Some pertinent questions race through my mind. Did the tender exercise go through proper channels? Or was the normal procedure short-circuited? Who else submitted tenders? Did the unsuccessful bidders know about the RM1 million donation? Finally, did the cabinet approve this RM1 million donation?

Where is the Anti-Corruption Agency's stand on this? Can I assume that they cannot see what an untrained individual like me can see and so clearly, too? Or are they are not independent but must wait for the signal from their masters, the government, to start investigations?

I am convinced that Abdullah Ahmad Badawi cannot and will not fight corruption when he moves up the ladder because he will be inheriting the same disease of corruption.

I wish concerned Malaysians will read this letter and use whatever resources they may have so that some form of retributive justice is meted out to the perpetrators of this heinous crime which will destroy our beloved country like cancer - slowly but surely.