M Manoharan, who is representing whistleblower Mohd Ramli Manan, has urged the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity to revert its decision to call off the hearing into the scandal involving Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Zulkipli Mat Noor.

The lawyer said the committee must immediately call his client and Zulkipli to testify. He has written to committee chairperson Bernard Dompok regarding this.

Ramli said that he was "ready and willing" to give full testimony before the committee.

Contacted today, Manoharan ( left ) said the reasons given by Dompok to cancel the hearing were unacceptable.

On Tuesday, Dompok said the hearing was called off in view of pending related court cases - Ramli's civil suit and the corruption trial of former land and cooperative minister Kasitah Gaddam.

However, Manoharan argued that the two cases were not related to the allegations against the ACA chief.

In his four-page letter to Dompok, which was made available to malaysiakini , Manoharan said Ramli's suit was to claim back his pension and other compensation.

"(The suit) does not include issues of enhancing value, ethics and integrity in society which is based on the implementation of the National Integrity Plan which should be the responsibility, role and mission of your committee," he said.

Case will take years

On the Kasitah trial, the lawyer said both Ramli and Zulkipli are not the material witnesses.

Manoharan also pointed out that Ramli's civil case could take years to be decided while Kasitah's trial was still in the prosecution stage.

"Due to the above reasons, we would like to say the reasons given by you to call off the hearing were not appropriate and fair.

"We appeal that you immediately set an early date for the hearing to uphold justice and to strengthen the role and responsibility of the committee," he said

According to Manoharan, the letter was faxed to Dompok yesterday evening and copied to Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang as well as committee secretary Mahmood Adam.

Ramli, the former Sabah ACA director, had penned a report prior to his retirement last December containing explosive allegations against Zulkipli ranging from corruption to sexual assault.

The report was exposed by an anti-corruption watchdog last month.

On March 7, he filed a suit against the government and several relevant parties to claim back his pension and other compensation, which he claims is being withheld.

Last week, Kasitah's lawyer Muhammad Shafee Abdullah told the Kuala Lumur High Court that the statements made by Ramli in an exclusive interview with malaysiakini could potentially prejudice his client's corruption trial.