The House was today told that the people who had lodged police reports on indelible ink smuggling will be spared from any action on the grounds that they had 'good intentions' in making the reports. This, among snippets from today's proceedings.

Nazri: They were concerned

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Nazri Abdul Aziz revealed in the House today that no action will be taken against those who had lodged police reports on indelible ink smuggling allegations.

nazri abdul aziz Answering a supplementary question by Loh Gwo-Burne (PKR-Kelana Jaya), Nazri said the complainants were just concerned over the matter and genuinely believed that the smuggling of indelible ink from neighbouring countries did indeed take place.

"Whether the reports are untrue or not, is not important. It all depends on the intention of the complainants and the police found that they (complainants) were just concerned over the matter," he said.

Last May, Home Minister Syed Hamid Albar revealed in Parliament that the Election Commission (EC)'s controversial decision to cancel the use of indelible ink four days before the March 8 polls was based on hearsay evidence.

bersih indelible ink police report against spr The EC had attributed the reason behind the cancellation to police reports alleging that certain quarters had purchased indelible ink from abroad, allegedly to create confusion and suspicion during the polls.

However, Syed Hamid later said police had found no evidence behind the claims after three investigation papers were opened. He added that the papers were referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers on March 14 and 21 were later classified under "no further action".

Najib: GLCs are improving

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today conceded that many government-linked companies (GLC) were not up to par with the performance expected of them. He, however, assured the House that the GLCs would improve, especially after keen observation from the government.

najib tun razak 040808 Najib, who is also the finance minister said this when questioned by Saifuddin Nasution (PKR-Machang) who claimed that GLCs were not performing as well as the non-GLCs in his supplementary question.

"For example, MAS compared to AirAsia, Maybank to Public Bank, TNB to YTL Power. They are in similar fields but the GLCs are left behind in terms of performance, compared to the non-GLCs.

saifuddin nasution "Why are the GLCs, who receive an overwhelming support from the government, still not able to compete at an international level?" asked Saifuddin.

Najib disagreed with this, saying that the GLCs were improving as indicated by the key performance indicators imposed on them.

"We have seen major improvements in these companies. But even if they are successful, we will not simply be satisfied.

"We will keep an eye on their performance and point out if there are any weaknesses," he added.