Below is a well written report by Audrey Dermawan.
Come clean on local council corruption charges, Guan Eng told
By Audrey Dermawan
GEORGE TOWN, Tues:
The Penang Government has been urged to come clean and explain an allegation made by the chief minister's aide that high ranking officials in local councils here were involved in graft.
Penang Gerakan vice youth chief H'ng Khoon Leng said the state government could not continue keeping mum over the issue as it involved the good name of the councils.
He said the allegation made by Lim Guan Eng's chief of staff, Ooi Chuan Aun, was serious and warranted an immediate follow-up." Ooi has been reported to have said that he has information of several high-ranking officers in the local councils being involved in corrupt practices." It is only right for the state government to follow-up on the allegation in a transparent manner to get to the bottom of the issue," he said.
H'ng added that the state government must also ensure those involved in corrupt practices are dealt with accordingly.Ooi was quoted in a Chinese daily on Mar 29 claiming several high-ranking officers in the local councils had allegedly resorted to corrupt practices.
H'ng said if the issue was not cleared up, people would have a negative perception of the local councils." It has been nearly a month since the report came out. When is the state government going to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission? More importantly, why is the state government not being accountable on this matter? he asked.
H'ng said if Ooi failed to prove his allegation, then Lim should apologise to all high-ranking officers in the local councils for allowing his chief of staff to make such a slanderous allegation.
