Supporting the call to probe International Trade and Industry (MITI) Minister Rafidah Aziz over the allotment of bumiputera shares, a PAS leader urged the government to release the complete list.

PAS secretary-general Kamaruddin Jaafar said the list of beneficiaries to the shares scheme must be laid bare to public scrutiny.

"The public would want to know if there are irregularities (in the scheme) similar to the distribution of Approved Permits (APs)

"If the list is released we can ascertain if the original intention of the scheme had been achieved. Or is it the same with the AP where only a handful of Malays are reaping the benefits?" he added.

The shares scheme was initiated in 1971 with the aim to transfer 30 percent of Malaysia's corporate wealth to the Malays.

Kamaruddin was responding to the call from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) Youth chief Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor, who wanted the government to investigate Rafidah over the shares as well.

Re-open investigations

Following the APs scandal, the authorities should consider re-opening the file on the minister regarding the shares, said the PAS leader.

"I think it's fair for us to now ask for the re-opening of the investigations considering the latest development," he added.

Previously, the Anti-Corruption Agency had launched an investigation into the claim that Rafidah had instructed her officers to grant her son-in-law Fazrin Azwar Mohd Nor a total of five million shares from the scheme.

However, the case was later closed.

Over the past weeks, the minister had been in the spotlight over the distribution of APs. The issue had led certain quarters to call for her resignation.

Meanwhile, Kamaruddin said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had failed to address the AP issue properly.

"We are deeply concerned that he appears not wanting to clear the air and instead allowing (former premier) Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Rafidah to fight it out ," he added.

Mahathir, who is now the adviser of national car manufacturer Proton, had been the one to raise the irregularities in the distribution of APs.

According to the PAS leader, Abdullah seemed reluctant on taking a decisive action to clear the issue once and for all.

"There is a saying that the buck stops at the president. So as prime minister, he must explain the matter or take action against Rafidah. There are no two-ways about it," he said.

However, Kamaruddin conceded that Rafidah's dismissal will only solve half of the problem. He said the government should also review all the policies in her ministry.

Lame duck

On the issue of the Malays economic competitiveness, he said it is a sad fact that they were lagging behind.

He attributed this partially to the Umno culture, where the Malays do not have to compete to get the benefits.

"All they have to do is be close to the leaders and they will get whatever they want. This culture is why we see a former MITI official being one of the AP Kings ... he's close to the minister.

"We then should not be surprise if the current secretary of MITI who had defended the minister will get APs when he retires. He has no business to defend the minister. It is not his job," he said.

Kamaruddin said it was amusing to note that those who were now critical of Rafidah were the same people who defended her in the past when the opposition accused her of corruption.

He said it was obvious that Umno leaders and supporters were confused and frustrated with the failure of the Malays in catching up in the economic race.

"They are confused. They are also angry and frustrated with the economy...so when the AP issue emerged just before the (Umno general) assembly it became a convenient tool for them to attack.

"They were looking for a lame duck and Rafidah was it," he added.