BMF SCANDAL.

MY MERDEKA DAY MESSAGE TO MY FELLOW MALAYSIANS.

Review of “Malaysia, My Home” by Chooi Mun Sou

I am writing this review as my patriotic duty on the occasion of our National Day 2023.

This book is a memoir par excellence of the life and times of a distinguished Malaysian lawyer who has not only upheld the highest traditions of the Bar but has exemplified the spirit of the Rukunegara in his professional and personal life.

Together with his heartwarming reminiscences of his family life,Mr Chooi Mun Sou gives the facts and terrible truths behind the BMF SCANDAL which not only shook the foundations of Bank Bumiputra Malaysia but also took the life of an innocent, young, honest & idealistic Malaysian banker, JALIL IBRAHIM.

This young man was sent by Bank Bumiputra Malaysia to investigate the shady dealings of top BMF Directors with George Tan, a financial crook and precursor of the tradition followed recently by today’s Jho Lo and his IMDB frolics with a willing Malaysian political partner.

Mr Chooi takes us along the courageous path of investigation undertaken by the Committee of Enquiry led by Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin bin Zakaria (Auditor-General, Malaysia), Lawyer Chooi Mun Sou himself ( author of “Malaysia, My Home”) and Dato Ramli Ibrahim(Accountant & Partner, Peat ,Marvick & Mitchell ).

As I read this book given to me by my brother Michael Doss ( a retired banker), I experienced many deep emotions. I felt pride and admiration for the courage of Jalil Ibrahim, the undaunted spirit of Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin, Mr Chooi Mun Sou and Dato Ramli Ibrahim who faced not only the dangers of reprisals by gangsters in Hong Kong connected with the Carrian group but also the hostility of the ruling party in Malaysia ,then under the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

I also felt thankfulness to Almighty God for the true lions in our history: Tun Hussein Onn ( who had retired) but came out loud and strong in his demand that the co-conspirators ( Lorraine Esme Osman, Rais Saniman, Hashim Shamsuddin and Ibrahim Jaafar) be prosecuted for their part in defrauding Bank Bumiputra Malaysia of millions of ringgit.

Another true lion of Malaysian courage was the Leader of the Opposition ,Mr Lim Kit Siang, who demanded that the Report of the Committee of Enquiry be tabled in parliament in order to give immunity from prosecution to the Committee of Enquiry. (This was rejected by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, who has not satisfactorily revealed the true reasons why he did not want the Report to be made public).

Credit must also be given to the young Anwar Ibrahim, who as Leader of UMNO Youth demanded the release of the Report of the Committee of Enquiry. He was also one of the few voices who called for prosecutions based on the recommendations of the Committee.

There was clearly a conspiracy to cover up the truth by the ruling party (UMNO- Barisan Nasional) . I hope more Malaysian historians will do research on this matter to unravel this mystery.

Did any of the top political leaders of ruling party benefit from the funds that were siphoned off by Lorraine Esme Osman, Rais Saniman, Hashim Shamsuddin and Ibrahim Jaafar ( All top officials of Bank Bumiputra Malayasia and its subsidiary Bumiputra Malaysia Finance (BMF).

The Attorney General of Malaysia at that time was Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman. He was one of the major stumbling blocks to the calls for prosecution of the Gang of Four.

He gave flimsy excuses such as “banking secrecy” and he refused to direct the police to carry out an independent investigation. His behaviour presages the behaviour of a later Attorney General, Apandi Ali, who acted similarly to block full investigations into the IMDB scandal.

These so-called lawmen should reflect on the words of Mr Chooi Mun Sou:

“We had to live with the shame of doing nothing while Hong Kong shouldered what should have been Malaysia’s responsibility."

The DYMM Agung had bestowed the highest award for valour , the Seri Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa, posthumously on Jalil, the only civilian to be so honoured.

But the country had little else to show for a life cut down in its prime.”

Despite the obstacles in their path, the Committee of Enquiry had done thorough work to lay down the evidence that there were AT LEAST NINE PRIMA FACIE CASES for CRIMINAL PROSECUTION of the GANG OF FOUR but no action was initiated by the Attorney General in our Malaysian courts.

What a shame! What a disgrace to all Malaysians! What a mockery of justice!

While our Malaysian government under Dr Mahathir Mohamad obfuscated and dithered, the GANG OF FOUR enjoyed their ill-gotten gains in paradise. Lorraine Esme Osman was living in high style in London. Rais Saniman was living it up in Paris.

Meanwhile, Malaysia did nothing to hunt down the daylight robbers who had brought Bank Bumiputra to the brink of collapse. (In the end Bank Bumiputra was rescued by PETRONAS, the sovereign wealth asset that was supposed to secure Malaysia’s future in hard times – not to bail out entities that are being robbed by corrupt parasites using the name of the NEP!)

Ironically, the Gang of Four and George Tan were prosecuted not by the Malaysian government but by the British colonial administration in Hong Kong.

The HK police used much of the evidence gathered by the Committee of Enquiry (Malaysia) to secure convictions and jail sentences for the Gang of Four and their partner-in-crime George Tan. Why was this not done in Malaysia, the homeland of the Gang of Four?

Here's what happened ultimately to the Gang of Four.

Lorraine Esme Osman -(Former DirectorBBMB and BMF) was living in high style in London when the Report of the Committee of Inquiry was released in Malaysia. On 13th December 1985, he was arrested by Scotland Yard in London on the basis of the charges made by the Hong Kong police. Lorrain embarked on a seven-year fight against extradition, claiming that he feared for his life if he was sent to Hong Kong for trial. He was held in police custody for seven years while the extradition battle in the UK court raged on.

Finally, in late 1992, he lost his tenth appeal and was extradited to face trial in Hong Kong. Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to one charge of conspiracy to defraud involving US$292 million.

The other charges were dropped. He was sentenced to one year’s jail after the judge took into account his plea and the seven years he had spent in Brixton prison. Because of the time held in remand in Hong Kong, the actual time he served of his sentence was 53 days!

By various accounts, on the day of his release, he moved into the Concord Hotel and at the party that night celebrated with champagne!

In the words of Thomas Hardy:

“Many a triumph of law is a mockery of justice!”

Hashim Shamsuddin –(Executive Director,BMF & BBMB) In November 1986, Hashim returned to Hong Kong to plead guilty to four charges. Two of these were for conspiracy to defraud on US"$" 137 million in loans to Carrian, and two for receiving bribes totalling HK$10 million from George Tan.

The rest of the 38 charges against him were dropped. He was sentenced to 4 ½ years’ jail which was later enhanced to 10 years when he appealed. After serving seven years in a Hong Kong prison, he was released.

Rais Saniman – (Former Senior General Manager of BBMB’s International BNKING Division and Alternate Director BMF)spent many happy years living in luxury in Paris playing golf much of the time with officials from the Malaysian embassy there.

The French courts refused extradition requests by the Hong Kong police. Ironically, he paid lip service to the NEP by writing a book on it! Nevertheless, the doggedness and determination of the Hong Kong police was rewarded when the Conseil d’Etat – the highest French court – ordered compliance with the request for extradition.

Rais, aged 59, was extradited in 1994.He pleaded guilty to two charges of conspiracy to defraud BMF of US$238 million in total and was given five years in jail.

Ibrahim Jaafar – GM of BMF and Chief Representative of BBMB – He admitted his role in the scandal and turned prosecution witness in Hong Kong. He was not charged.

The future of our country depends on the moral fibre of our political leaders and our professional elite in the Civil Service and the private sector.

We salute the memory of the late Jalil Ibrahim who was awarded the nation’s highest honour – the Panglima Pahlawan Gagah Perkasa by His Majesty the Agung – Paramount Ruler of Malaysia.

To the Committee of Four (Tan Sri Ahmad Noordin, Mr Chooi Mun Sou and Dato Ramly Ibrahim), all Malaysians join me in applauding your inspiring campaign to uphold truth and justice in public and private life.

HIDUP MALAYSIA! WE HAVE ACHIEVED MERDEKA FROM COLONIAL RULE! BUT WHEN WILL WE ACHIEVE MERDEKA FROM CORRUPTION WITHIN OUR OWN PEOPLE?