Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's refusal to respond in Parliament about his former aide's alleged involvement with permits for foreign workers raises suspicion, said a DAP lawmaker.
Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim said he had asked Zahid, as home minister, if there was a conflict of interest in his aide's involvement in Bukti Megah Sdn Bhd, a company contracted by Putrajaya to handle work permits from 15 source countries.
Zahid's parliamentary written reply described the company's function but made no mention of his aide's involvement in the company.
"When given the opportunity to explain in Parliament, the home minister totally avoided my question and refused to come clean.
"The home minister not only disrespected Parliament as a forum to be accountable and transparent about his government's action, he missed the opportunity to clear himself and his special officer of the suspicion of abuse of power and corruption.
"In doing so, the home minister has implicated himself in this case. As such, I call upon the MACC to investigate this matter," Sim said in a statement today.
According to an Al Jazeera documentary aired worldwide in July, but not in Malaysia, Putrajaya contracted three companies as agents for foreign labourers.
The documentary claimed that all three companies were headed by Umno members.
One of the directors for Bukti Megah was said to be a former aide to Zahid. At the time of writing, the person's name does not appear on both the office directory of the deputy prime minister or the home minister's official website.
Sim believes these companies, which he dubbed as "super agents", could potentially rake in millions from preparing papers for foreign workers.
"Based on official statistics, there are about 127,705 migrant workers from Myanmar in Malaysia.
"Bukti Megah is set to receive hundreds of millions of ringgit in processing fees and the holding of charges and levies payable to the government.
"This is only in regard to workers from Myanmar and not counting workers from the other source countries," Sim added.- Mkini
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