newsmaker n. One whose actions consistently make news headlines, who effects the course of public discourse and creates an impact in Malaysian politics, for better or worse.

He represents a new breed of politician and is a rising star of his party. Those in government have learnt the hard way to keep a wary eye on him, for he is a dab hand at uncovering what some would prefer to keep buried.

Combining the honed skills of a private eye and a researcher, he has been the year’s most prolific whistleblower. He is hard to ignore, and even harder to silence - and naturally, malaysiakini’s ‘Newsmaker of the Year’.

Husam Musa, 44, has made a name for himself as the opposition parliamentarian with a penchant for painstaking research in proving his point. This elevates him from many who shoot from the lip and are, consequently, easily disregarded by those in authority.

The MP for Kelantan’s Kubang Kerian, he is also a central committee member in PAS. His popularity appears to growing within the party as well. At this year’s general assembly, he beat a number of senior leaders among the 18 candidates to secure the fourth-highest vote.

But it is in the Dewan Rakyat where his oratory has found full play, with his speeches backed with dispassionate facts and figures that cut to the chase in his criticism of Barisan Nasional (BN) policies.

He has repeatedly taken on the government and its decisions to spend billions of ringgit on financially questionable projects - and won several concessions in terms of policy reviews.

And all this, in his first outing as MP after winning a seat in the 1999 general election.

Heat on politicians

Husam joined PAS in 1983 after completing his tertiary studies and rose to became press, then political secretary to PAS spiritual leader and Kelantan Mentri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat.

An economics graduate, he has been able to put his knowledge to good use in reading the fine print of contracts, financial documents and official reports.

In 2001, he attracted attention when he drew first blood - from Mokhzani, a businessman son of then premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad. It was to be the first of many human targets on which he would train his sights.

Husam exposed Mokhzani’s shareholding stakes and post on the board of various profitable companies, hinting at gains from nepotism.

The media picked up the issue and the resultant pressure led to Mokhzani announcing that he would divest his interests and quit the domestic business scene, so as not to tarnish his father’s reputation. Mahathir would often comment on this until his own retirement in October this year.

Last year, he spoke out in Parliament against a proposal to build a RM1.2 billion national exhibition centre at the site of the former Subang international airport. The reaction was quite extraordinary, for no less a personality than Daim Zainuddin, then the finance minister, invited him around for a chat.

In a telephone interview, Husam recalled: "I was pleasantly surprised when the minister (Daim) called me to his office and commended my approach in dealing with the issue. The project was later shelved.

"I have always been interested in figures and think nothing of going through pages and pages of contracts and financial reports because data doesn’t lie."

Political gambit

In May this year, several Umno leaders found themselves in a hot spot despite the cooler climes into which they had ventured in search of business opportunities.

Husam discovered that Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor (a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department) and Pasdec Corporation Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of the Pahang economic development body) were among major shareholders in Bukit Tinggi Resorts, which holds a licence to operate gaming slot machines in a highland resort in Pahang.

Armed with documents obtained from the Companies Commission of Malaysia, he revealed that the minister and Pasdec had owned 64 million and 46 million shares respectively in the company.

Tengku Adnan denied any involvement, while Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob failed to defuse the debate started by wagging tongues and wondering minds. Pasdec merely said it had sold its shares.

Eventually, Mahathir ordered the Finance Ministry to investigate the terms and conditions of the gaming licence, and suspension of the Bukit Tinggi casino operations until the check is completed - it is still in progress.

The episode must have triggered Husam’s literary instincts, for he soon wrote ‘Malaysia: Darul Kasino’ to chronicle the government’s ‘role’ in gambling and lottery operations through its various investment arms.

It was his second book in months. As a political gambit, the exposé was brilliant, for it fingered the government on both a moral and religious level. Muslims are prohibited from gambling or living on any earnings from such activities.

An earlier publication , ‘BN Khianati Amanah Rakyat’, delved into annual reports from 1997-2000 issued by the Auditor-General. The thrust of his commentary was on poor decision making by the government and its lack of transparency.

Said Husam of his writings: "My intention is to get the message across to the public directly. It would worry me if they don’t have such information. They will have to act on this or all such (investigative) efforts would go to waste."

More notches

In August, Husam delivered an initial salvo that muddied the purportedly ‘clean’ image being carefully built around then deputy premier (now premier) Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Husam made the connection between the privatisation of the lucrative catering subsidiary of Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and its purchase by businessman Ibrahim Ahmad, who is Abdullah’s brother.

Ibrahim was believed to be the main shareholder of Gubahan Saujana - which bought into MAS Catering - through his company, Fahim Capital.

Husam sent Abdullah an official letter seeking clarification, but none came. This did not deter him from proceeding with his pursuit of information on the transaction.

He revealed that an ‘unfair’ profit guarantee clause was included in the sale and purchase agreement. Under the clause, Gubahan Saujana was given a 80-85 percent profit guarantee over nine years for its 70 percent share in MAS Catering valued at RM175 million.

Next in his line of fire were Umno Pahang officials. At the September sitting of Parliament, Husam was among opposition MPs who forced attention on a shady logging deal that was at the heart of a series of malaysiakini exclusives . They demanded an official inquiry.

Husam went a step further by calling a press conference at the Parliament lobby where he distributed copies of a police report lodged against Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob, over alleged involvement in the deal.

The report was backed by several receipts for payments totalling more than RM320,000, which were allegedly made to two of Adnan’s right-hand men. Following intense pressure from opposition colleagues, the Anti-Corruption Agency began investigations .

Deal scotched

More recently, Husam ventured into bilateral ties by scrutinising the government’s decision to award a RM14.45 billion double-tracking railway contract to local companies Malaysian Mining Corporation Bhd and Gamuda Bhd (MMC-Gamuda JV).

Initially, the project had been promised to the Indian Railway Construction Co (Ircon) and China Railway under a government-to-government initiative that had been negotiated earlier. However, the foreign companies’ bid was considered too high in the end.

Husam disputed the government’s claim that the "lowest bid" proposed by the local joint-venture partners - he pointed out that the award could not have been based on this criteria because a clause for a variation order had been included, thereby allowing for a mark up later.

In asking the government to reconsider the decision, Husam expressed concern over possible bilateral and trade repercussions on the diplomatic front. He even visited Indian and Chinese embassies in Kuala Lumpur to get more information.

Eventually, the government shelved the project - a decision which also highlighted the fact that its privatisation programme since the 1980s had cost the country almost RM250 billion.

"The decision to defer the railway project alone wasted RM4.73 million already spent on the preparatory works along the Ipoh-Rawang stretch, and now made redundant," Husam noted ruefully.

Still, small successes like this will keep his one-man show firmly on the road, searching for the kind of revelations that affect the public interest and create a response.

This, he said, will inspire him, for "nothing excites me more than a public discourse on an issue I have raised".

Newsmaker of the Year 2002

Newsmaker of the Year 2001