The de facto PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim said the latest scandal to hit the national coffers the Port Klang Authority Free Trade Zone fiasco was yet another demonstration of the necessity of severing the ties between business and politics in Malaysia.

"In every major scandal to have affected the national treasury, it was found that the nexus between business and politics was the reason why regulatory controls that were in place were ignored and a fiasco engendered," said Anwar.

In remarks made to malaysiakini , Anwar said the RM4.6 billion losses suffered by Port Klang Authority (PKA) in trying to develop its 400-hectare free trade zone had all the hallmarks of previous scandals that have occurred in recent financial history, like the Perwaja steel fiasco and the Malaysia Airlines scam.

"These scandals have taken on a self-perpetuating aspect because it is the temptation of politicians or their proxies involved in these businesses to ignore the regulatory controls," said Anwar.

"The technocrats involved in the enterprise are reduced to accomplices in the scam or quit out of frustration or become mute bystanders in the evolving bungle," he said.

He said the "highly noxious" ties between politics and business were the effect of the manipulation of the New Economic Policy to serve the interests of political elites rather than the rakyat as originally envisaged by the policy's formulators.

"Keadilan calls for an open investigation into the scandal. The inquiry must examine the roles played in the fiasco by the ministers involved, officials responsible for the management of the port and related bodies.

"There must be no cover-ups. Malaysians must know how and why this happened," demanded Anwar.

Recent documentary revelations, as published in malaysiakini , showed how the PKA had paid a hefty sum to develop the PKFTZ, which has now turned into a white elephant. Recent media reports also indicated that the government had agreed to bail out this PKA project.

Impasse in judiciary

On another matter, Anwar said that the appointment of Chief Judge of Malaya must be "a reflection of the consensual wisdom of the parties involved rather than of prime ministerial fiat."

He was commenting on remarks made by Chief Justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim that the reported refusal of the Conference of the Rulers to approve the Prime Minister's choice of Chief Judge of Malaya was not binding on the PM.

Ahmad Fairuz had said that the Prime Minister was the "ultimate decider" in matters of judicial appointment and that the rulers merely act on his advice in this regard.

Anwar said his understanding of the relevant clauses in the Federal Constitution suggested that a unilateral approach to the appointment of the principal judicial officers - the Chief Justice, President of the Court of Appeal, Chief Judge of Malaya, and Chief Judge of Borneo would be "an expression of fiat."

The post of Chief Judge of Malaya has been vacant since January 2007, following the retirement of previous incumbent Siti Norma Yaacob.

It is believed that the Conference of Rulers has declined to approve Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi's recommendation of who should be the new Chief Judge of Malaya.

"The four judicial posts at the top of our system are appointments of the highest gravity," said Anwar.

"A unilateralist resolution of the differences would be an expression of prime ministerial fiat. This would militate against a foundation plank of our polity which is constitutional monarchy," asserted Anwar.

Anwar said the reported impasse between the Rulers Conference and the PM over the appointment of the CJM must not be looked at in isolation from the allegation and suspicion that has clung to the judiciary over a long period of time.

"It is no secret that the Malaysian judiciary is suffering from dwindling credibility. The stalemate over the appointment must be viewed as a symptom of this malaise.

Resolving this impasse through prime ministerial fiat rather than through consensual wisdom would be arrogance of power by the executive," he said.

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