The DAP today criticised Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi for saying the government will not interfere in the impending one-month closure of Perwaja Steel Sdn Bhd as the latter had reasons for the decision.
DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang said Abdullah must accept individual and collective responsibility for one of the worst corporate scandals in the nations history as he had been in the Cabinet for the past decade.
Abdullah was a member of the Cabinet which in 1997 favoured Syarikat Maju Holdings Bhd to rescue Perwaja awarding it a 51 percent stake and management control, Lim said in a press statement.
It also allowed the bumiputra group to start on a clean slate with the government assuming full responsibility for the RM2.9 billion losses and RM6.9 billion liabilities chalked up by Perwaja, he said.
Abdullah was reported by Bernama yesterday as defending the one-month closure of Perwaja plants as announced by the steel company saying that Perwaja had reasons for making the decision.
The deputy premier said the government would not take any action or interfere in the matter. He declined to make any assumptions when asked if the giant steel plant would eventually close down.
More than 2,000 workers affected
Perwaja plants, located in Gurun and Kemaman, yesterday ceased operations as part of a temporary month-long closure. Over 2,000 employees have been offered a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS).
Lim said he had in January 1997 called on the government to present a White Paper in Parliament on four Perwaja rescue proposals.
He said as the Malaysian taxpayers had assumed full responsibility for Perwajas losses, the government had a duty to explain whether it had received any proposals which were better than that proposed by Maju Holdings Sdn. Bhd.
The Cabinet decision to favour Maju Holdings Sdn Bhds rescue proposal and to reject the other three bids must now be the subject of public scrutiny following the companys failure with the closure and retrenchment, he added.
Lim said as a member of the Cabinet which decided to hand over Perwaja to Maju Holdings on a clean slate, Abdullah cannot shirk responsibility for Perwajas cessation of operations and retrenchment of workers.
He called upon Abdullah and the entire Cabinet to answer for the latest Perwaja debacle.
Release details of rescue bids
Lim added that a White Paper on Perwaja should be presented in Parliament next month and should cover two important aspects full details of the four Perwaja rescue bids presented in 1997 and the criteria for selecting Maju Holdings and reasons for its failure.
Lim said there should also be a full report on the outcome of investigations into an alleged RM10 billion Perwaja scandal.
In July 1999, former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim lodged a police report concerning Perwaja making specific allegations of corruption and abuses of power.
Since then, the Anti-Corruption Agency had made tantalising comments that it was on the verge of a breakthrough in its investigations into the Perwaja scandal, said Lim.
It is time that the full story of the RM10 billion Perwaja scandal, which parallels the two-decade administration of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, be fully told in a White Paper to Parliament next month, he added.
Maju Holdings has reportedly planned to reduce Perwajas workforce by 55 percent from 2,800 personnel in October last year.
It was given a 51 percent stake in Perwaja Steel in January 1997 with the Terengganu state government holding 19 percent and the remaining 30 percent held by the federal government.
