MACC questions ex-MPSP president

GEORGE TOWN: Former Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif has been questioned by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) which is probing for possible abuse of power involving an illegal carbon filter processing factory.

She turned up at the MACC headquarters at about 5.30pm yesterday.

Maimunah, who is now Penang Island City Council mayor, was supposed to attend a function at Armenian Park at 8pm last night.

However, it was learnt that the event’s organisers got a call at about 8.20pm informing them that she would not be attending.

At press time, it was not known whether she had left the MACC building.

State executive councillor Phee Boon Poh was also again questioned by the MACC.

Phee, who is State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman, arrived at MACC headquarters at about 9.45am yesterday.

His daughter and his counsel, Ramkarpal Singh, accompanied him; they left the premises at about 6.15pm.

Phee, who got back his MyKad, passport and personal belongings which were initially withheld, did not speak to journalists who approached him.

Ramkarpal said MACC had “recorded a long statement” from Phee.

“We were told MACC will not need further statements from him, but we will always come back if needed,” he said.

Also seen at the MACC building yesterday was the Central Seberang Prai District Officer’s official car, but it is not known when he arrived.

Meanwhile, Penanti assemblyman Dr Norlela Ariffin has produced letters claiming that the smoke-spewing carbon factory in Sungai Lembu was on the verge of being shut down but was allowed to operate for two years. She said she decided to ignore a gag order from a state party leader and revealed the letters yesterday, which show that the Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) had planned to demolish the factory in 2015 because it was an illegal structure.

“A party leader called me last week, telling me to stop talking to the press and posting on Facebook.

“What does that leave me with? Alone. I am a responsible assemblyman and am not about to stop now.

“Since they asked for it, here are the letters,” she said.

On Thursday, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Phee said they did not know about the letters and told her to reveal them.

A letter from MPSP to Dr Norlela on July 10, 2015, said that it had decided to tear down the factory. The council told Dr Norlela that on May 12, 2015, it ordered the owner to demolish the factory themselves, but more than a month later, it continued to operate.

The second letter was from the Department of Environment (DoE) to MPSP on April 24, 2015, with a copy sent to her. The department urged MPSP to take action because the factory was using antiquated methods of burning sawdust to make activated carbon for the filters.

MPSP president Rozali Mohamud refused to comment on the letters, saying that the matter was under MACC investigation.

Penang Gerakan land and anti-corruption committee spokesman H’ng Khoon Leng was disappointed that the state government only revealed the minutes of the state government meeting to “show an inconclusive report from the district health office that favoured them while the DoE had declared the factory was polluting our air”.

“We can now only hope that MACC’s investigation will show what had happened, why a polluting factory was allowed to thrive for nine years,” he added.