Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) has slammed the government for allegedly “orchestrating” the harassment of the NGO through a pressure group that prompted the Companies Commission of Malaysia’s (CCM) unusually swift inspection.

“We stress that the entire (orchestrated move) by the government to harass Suaram through a complaint by Jaringan Melayu Malaysia (JMM) and CCM’s routine inspection was political and uncalled for.

“We do not even know if the complaint was made officially to CCM.

“It appears that the CCM is acting on every single complaint (official or otherwise) from the public at a highly efficient rate,” said Suaram executive director E Nalini.

In a statement today, Nalini said that Suaram, which runs Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd, is cooperating with CCM and furnished the five documents required.

These include information on Suaram’s administrative expenses and business activities between 2008 and 2011, their general ledger, and supporting documents related to income and expenses.

She reiterated that Suaram would comply with the requirements of the Companies Act to provide information to CCM, and has offered to provide further information if requested.

'What about Terasasi, CCM? '

The commission began scrutinising Suaram after Azwanddin Hamzah, president of the pro-government pressure group JMM, questioned its legitimacy as a NGO.

Azwanddin said that the human rights group was not registered as a non-government organisation with the Registrar of Societies, but instead as a company Suara Inisiatif Sdn Bhd with a paid-up capital of RM2.  

He also claimed that a check with CCM records shows the company’s income stood at  RM497,137 in 2009 and RM411,226 in 2010.

Two days later, CCM visited Suaram’s office, but the search was aborted due to a faulty notice of inspection. A second visit on the following day was also unsuccessful, and CCM served the notice by registered post instead on July 6.

The notice required Suaram to present the documents at CCM’s offices on July 13, although CCM later granted a request to extend the deadline, said Nalini.

Earlier, Suaram director Kua Kia Soong also blasted CCM’s actions asking why the government was not investigating companies involved in the Scorpene scandal such as Terasasi instead of harassing Suaram.

Suaram is the main Malaysian complainant in the Scorpene scandal inquiry currently being heard in Paris, which has resulted in an investigation by the French courts into allegations of kickbacks in the submarine sale.

Terasasi , which was a party to the deal, had allegedly ‘bought’ the Royal Malaysian Navy’s evaluation documents on the submarine – papers that have been gazetted as military secret.