Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh

Ezam slams Teresa Kok for assessing character based on media reports

Calling Kok's faith in Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh as arrogant, Ezam said this was unwise coming from a minister that was part of a government that was about reform and change. Pic by NSTP/MUHD ZAABA ZAKERIA

By NST Online -
August 8, 2018 @ 3:25pm

KUALA LUMPUR: Still firmly holding on to his criticism of appointing a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) chairman as the chairman of another government agency, former senator Datuk Ezam Mohd Noor fired back at Primary Industries Minister Teresa Kok.

Calling Kok's faith in Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh as arrogant, Ezam said this was unwise coming from a minister that was part of a government that was about reform and change.

"How can a minister make that kind of a conclusion when the government she is part of is still investigating the 1MDB scandal and the process of justice has not concluded.

"Did the minister ever ask Mohd Bakke if he had made an official complaint to the authorities on the problems in 1MDB? This is a necessary move from the perspective of law and morality, for someone who wishes to defend (another person's) integrity," Ezam said.

Ezam, the chairman of HISBAH had previously labelled the appointment of Mohd Bakke as chairman of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) as a 'wrong decision' citing the latter as having once headed the scandal-plagued 1MDB.

In a response, Kok said Mohd Bakke had quit from 1MDB due to improprieties in the company where controversial money transfers were kept out of the knowledge of the sovereign wealth fund's board of directors.

Kok described Mohd Bakke as a man of integrity and was a respected corporate figure with vast experience in the palm oil industry.

Ezam meanwhile claimed that Kok defending Mohd Bakke could interfere with the legal action undertaken by other Malaysians, including himself, who sought for justice, citing his own civil suit against former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and 1MDB.

Kok, in defending Mohd Bakke's appointment had also said the latter had openly expressed utter disgust against the dealings of 1MDB when testifying during the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) hearings in 2016 as reported in the media.

To that, Ezam remarked that it was premature and questionable for a minister to arrive at such a conclusion based on media reports.

"What about a news report dated Feb 2016 quoting Mohd Bakke as making a statement in line with what Najib said, that the RM2.6 billion was not from 1MDB and that Mohd Bakke himself had warned of legal action against anyone who claimed otherwise," Ezam asked.