Ng yens Mirza's second acquital?

Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg.

The name of the Director General of Tourism Minister - the man who dare say NO to his political Master, the man who will not stoop to political nonsense - should ring the invoke a sense of guilt in the consciousness of the former as well the current Tourism Ministers.

The former, Datok Azalina Mohd Said had her Ministerial career ended after attempts to fix him with corruption charges failed. While dentists are supposed to fix aching teeth, Dr Kamariah (Din Merican's current wife) was helping her friend at University of Malaya to fix on an innocent man. Read one of the posting here.

Najib left Azalina out of his new cabinet. She will be another casualty of wasted leadership talent in politics. For this case, it is the politician's doing and not a story of fallen heroine to the dirty games of politics.

For whatever bad luck of Mirza, another lady Tourism Ministry, Dato Ng Yen Yen, whose eager to get her son a piece of the action on the advertisement budget, is setting him up for the slammer also. Read back this old posting here.

Maybe luck is still with Mirza. Former Pempena COO Mohammad Rosly Md Selamat, who was charged with Mirza on a Malaysian Kitchen related transaction, was acquited together with former Pempena financial controller, Lim Khing Tai yesterday.

Will this be a prequel to another acquital? Mirza's miraculous second return will only make him more respectable and influential amongst his peers, subordinate and industry stalwart to resist his political master. It should auger well for the industry to move on the rightful and righteous path.

If so, it will mean it is Yen Yen who will end up moving. Will she fight it out? Or end up the same fate as Azalina?

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Former Pempena COO acquitted of CBT charge

The Star, August 17th, 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: A Sessions Court here acquitted and discharged two former high-ranking officers from Pempena Sdn Bhd, a subsidary of the Tourism Ministry, over a CBT charge involving RM 169,770.

Session Court judge Rozana Ali Yusoff held Wednesday that the prosecution had failed to proof a prima facie against former Pempena COO Mohammad Rosly Md Selamat and former financial controller Lim Khing Tai.

She added that the prosecution had failed to prove that Mohammad Rosly and Lim had control of the company's fund.

Instead, she said, Mohammad Rosly and Lim only acted on the instructions from the top people who gave them the power to sign cheques.

"Everything was done in the open and in the presence of other directors," she added.

Mohammad Rosly was charged with using the money, in four Bumiputra Commerce Berhad cheques, which had been entrusted to him as payment to Ummi Hafilda Ali.

He was charged with using the money to pay sponsorship for a concert by singer Amr Diab, despite being aware that the payment had yet to be approved by Pempena Sdn Bhd's board of directors.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Pempena Sdn Bhd office at Menara Dato' Onn, Putra World Trade Center on Aug 15, 2006.

Lim was also charged with the same offence.

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With Mohammad Rosly acquital, will it be a divine signal that Mirza will be out too? The second attempt to fix Mirza for corruption is for a different case back and Mohammad Rosly is being charged together in August 2010.

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Mirza denies RM888,000 CBT charge

The Star, Tuesday August 17, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR: Tourism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyab Beg has pleaded not guilty to criminal breach of trust (CBT) involving RM888,000.

The 52-year-old was jointly charged with former Pempena Sdn Bhd chief operations officer (COO) Mohammad Rosly Md Selamat, 56, who also claimed trial at the Sessions Court here.

The men remained calm when their charge was read out before a packed courtroom at the court complex here yesterday.

Earlier, Mohammad Rosly pleaded not guilty to another CBT charge at another Sessions Court.

The two were accused of committing CBT at the Pempena office at the Putra World Trade Centre here on Feb 27, 2007.

The men, who were entrusted with RM888,000 of the company’s funds, were accused of committing the crime when they paid the sum to LCL Interior LCL Dubai for a project to build a restaurant in Dubai.

They allegedly paid the money to set up the eatery called Restoran Malaysia Dubai al­­­­­­­­­­­­­though the project did not fulfil the necessary requirements.

Sessions judge Azizah Mahamud granted Mirza and Mohammad Rosly a bail of RM30,000 and RM50,000 with one surety respectively. Both men made bail.

She fixed Sept 6 for the next mention.

The judge ordered that Mohammad Rosly’s passport be impounded but allowed Mirza’s passport to be surrendered on or before Sept 1 to enable him to perform the umrah.
Mohammad Rosly

Mirza was represented by counsel Shashi Menon while lawyer Rejinder Singh acted for Mohammad Rosly.

Deputy Public Prosecutors Nahra Dollah and Rebecca Mathan appeared for the prosecution.

This is the second time Mirza has been charged for graft.

On Aug 13, 2008, he claimed trial to wrongfully accepting a sponsored dental implant treatment worth RM13,860 from his brother’s partner in a consultancy company, which obtained overseas projects from the agency.

He was alleged to have received the sponsorship from Perunding Pakar Media Sdn Bhd’s director Zulhisyam Ayob, 48, with­­­­­out consideration, at Clinical Practice Pros­thodontics Sdn Bhd, in Taman Tun Dr Ismail, between Jan 17 and July 26, 2005, when he was the deputy director-general 1.

On July 24, last year, Mirza was acquitted by Sessions judge Zainal Abidin Kamaruddin without his defence being called.

The prosecution then filed an appeal with the High Court, but withdrew it in May.

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For this case, Mirza signed the cheque as mere authorised signatory of the Company upon other's empowered approval for the payment. Thus it is mind bloggling that he end up being charged by Attorney General's office.

Almost everyone asked, including MACC officers, vouch for his integrity and honesty as well as brevity to resist Minister's whim and fancy. It is almost a chorus that the suspicion that he is being fixed by the current Minister to ease her son's role for a piece of action in the ad budget. How could a case be built against him based on such intentions, especially it is not easy to hold up in court?

With some knowledge of the case, the real indiscretion lies with money from a failed Hyderabad restaurant which is supposed to be returned but get rerouted elsewhere. Why was this left unaddressed by MACC?

Could Yen Yen explain?