The deputy premier was asked by opposition politicians today to substantiate his anti-corruption speech yesterday by clearing the air on his brother's involvement in the privatisation of a MAS subsidiary.

"I hope the Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi can give full explanation on the involvement of (his brother) Ibrahim Ahmad Badawi in the privatisation of MAS Catering,"said Kubang Kerian member of parliament Husam Musa ( right ).

According to Husam, it has been revealed that main terms of the privatisation deal of national carrier's catering arm included a revenue guarantee of 80 per cent for 108 months, or nine years, if the purchase by a consortium goes ahead as planned.

The opposition politician said that Gubahan Saujana - a company controlled by Ibrahim Ahmad - will likely own 70 per cent of the catering company, while the rest by LSG Skychefs, itself a unit of German carrier Deutsche Lufthansa AG. The privatisation deal is still pending.

Rhetoric not enough

Ibrahim is believed to be the main shareholder of Gubahan Saujana through his company, Fahim Capital, said Husam.

"I would like to seek clarification from (Abdullah) whether such a revenue guarantee is true. If he is trying to hide the deal even before he becomes prime minister, what is there to guarantee that he will remain clean as prime minister?" said Husam.

"Rhetoric without concrete action will merely be a repeat of the slogan 'Bersih, Cekap dan Amanah' introduced in 1982 (by outgoing Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad), which has clearly failed up till today," he added.

Meanwhile, DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang proposed that Abdullah draw up a long-term plan that would "give teeth" to Malaysia's oft-announced plans to crack down on corruption.

"Yesterday was not the first speech by Abdullah on corruption ...at the Ethics and Integrity Conference last August, Abdullah had declared that the government possessed ample political will to eradicate the scourge of corruption," Lim said.

Show political will

He pointed out that seven years ago, former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim had also promised a new era when the Dewan Rakyat approved the Anti-Corruption Law 1997, announcing the intention to catch both large players and the smaller fry.

"Ironically and tragically, the only 'big fish' caught during the 22-year Mahathir premiership was none other than Anwar himself, convicted and jailed for a corruption offence which did not involve a single sen," he said.

"Time has long past in Malaysia for good speeches against corruption by government leaders, as what is urgently needed is the political will and effective action to combat corruption at all levels," he added.

Abdullah should prove the government's "zero tolerance for corruption" by placing short and medium-term targets for Malaysia, he said, suggesting the country aim at becoming the 25 least corrupt nations by the end of the Fifth Malaysia Plan in 2005, and the top five least corrupt spots in 10 years.