Seized luxury car reserved for certain people, claims MP

[fyire]

KUALA LUMPUR: The bitter feud between Jasin “Close One Eye” MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof (right) and the Customs Department has escalated to another level with the Member of Parliament claiming he was offered a chance to buy a confiscated car only to be told that the luxury cars were reserved for certain people.

“I wanted a Mercedes Benz but I did not get it. What I wanted was reserved for someone else,” he told reporters at the Parliament House lobby yesterday. ”I, on the other hand, was asked to see some useless cars.”

Mohd Said said he had received an offer letter from Malacca Customs to buy one of the confiscated cars.

“I went with the intention of buying a Mercedes. I saw three luxury cars – two Mercedes and a BMW – in the yard but they were all reserved for certain people,” he recounted.

“I asked why these cars were not claimed and was told that the confiscation cases were not settled yet.”

He claimed that a Customs officer later told him that the cars were “reserved for certain people”.

The cars, he said, were eventually sold cheaply and he claimed he had evidence of the Custom’s malpractice.

Last week, the Jasin MP alleged during question time in Parliament that certain top Customs officials had sold confiscated luxury cars cheaply to their “friends” in palaces and other government departments.

Mohd Said said the officials had abused their power by selling the cars meant for open auction to their royalty friends in return for Datukships – a charge denied by Customs director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid, who insisted that his men handled seized cars according to procedure.

Last month, Mohd Said was subjected to an inquiry by a Cabinet panel for asking Malacca Customs Department in April to “close one eye” over a seized consignment of imported timber.

Continuing where he left off last week, Mohd Said made more allegations against the department.

“Why are the cars being reserved if the cases have not been settled?” he said, claiming that the cars were reserved for senior Customs officers.

He said he knew the cars were going for about RM40,000 as the Customs officers had told him that, and he decided to highlight the matter in Parliament.

Mohd Said told reporters yesterday that Customs should answer what he raised through the ministry.

From: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...nation&focus=1

So this joker is throwing a temper tantrum 'cause he can't get himself a cheap Merc?

[doraemon]

[redness]

Originally Posted by doraemon

I loled so hard I need to take MC from work!

[doraemon]

Originally Posted by redness

I loled so hard I need to take MC from work!

need meh?

[Chai]

I wonder if they have one of those R34 Skyline GTR... I thought I've seen some.

[ToyotaFreak]

Rather than confiscating the cars, the governement should set a couple of options for parallel importers such as;

-Pay up the owed duties.

-Get the car strictly confiscated for customs use ONLY (And then sold or auctioned off as an ex-government vehicl after 3 - 5 years.).

-Re-export back the car to where it came from.

-Export back the car to a new buyer in another country.

-Get the car destroyed at your own cost.

[fyire]

More Whackings

MPs: No such privilege

By ELIZABETH LOOI and ZULKIFLI ABD RAHMAN

KUALA LUMPUR: Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof enjoyed a privilege that several other Members of Parliament claimed they never had – an offer by the Customs Department to buy a confiscated car at a special price.

Ketereh MP Datuk Mohd Alwi Che Ahmad said he had never received such an offer letter from Customs, despite his elder brother being the Selangor Customs enforcement unit director at some stage.

“I don’t know if MPs are given priority to buy cars seized by Customs. But I know that civil servants can buy tax-free government cars after five years’ service,” he said when met at the Parliament House lobby yesterday.

Fellow MP Dr Wee Ka Siong suggested that Customs could show transparency by conducting open tenders for seized cars, including high-end models.


SOON TO BE AUCTIONED: Some of the confiscated vehicles parked at the Johor Customs warehouse.
The Ayer Hitam representative also said he had never received any offer letter from Customs to buy cars.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad said the authorities, including the Finance Ministry, should disclose to the public the procedures of the sale and auction of seized luxury cars.

On Tuesday, Mohd Said told newsmen that he had received an offer letter from Malacca Customs to buy one of their confiscated cars.

But he was disappointed that he could not purchase the Mercedes Benz car that he wanted, because luxury cars were “reserved for certain people.”

Mohd Said, who was subjected to an inquiry by a Cabinet panel for asking Malacca Customs in April to “close one eye” over a seized consignment of imported timber, also accused the department of malpractice, saying that he had evidence to back his claim.

However, when contacted yesterday, Mohd Said insisted that he had applied as an “ordinary citizen” to the Finance Ministry to buy seized cars.

Abdul Fatah Harun (PAS – Rantau Panjang) said MPs’ benefits included firearms licence, flight tickets and driver.

“I’ve never heard of any Customs offer to MPs to buy seized luxury cars at special prices. I may have missed that in the Order Paper for MPs,” he said.

Seri Kembangan MP Datuk Yap Pian Hon said the only privilege he knew of was that MPs got faster service when dealing with government departments, because their business was to help their constitutents.

Yap, Tangga Batu MP Datuk Idris Harun, Tanah Merah MP Shaari Hassan, Jerai MP Datuk Badruddin Amiruldin and Sri Gading MP Datuk Mohd Aziz all said they had not received any offer letter to buy cars from Customs.

Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang also said he had never come across such an offer or heard of this privilege during his tenure as MP.

In a statement issued in Parliament later, Lim said Mohd Said had financial interest in the issue, as the Jasin MP had made known the offer to him by Malacca Customs.

Lim cited Standing Order 35(6) which stipulates that “a Member shall not speak in any matter in which he has a direct personal pecuniary interest without disclosing the extent of that interest.”

“Mohd Said violated the Standing Orders and committed a breach of parliamentary privilege when he failed to declare his pecuniary interest in the issue when he raised it in Parliament on Wednesday,” he added.

From: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...112&sec=nation

and

MPs must serve the people, not air personal grouses

COMMENT
By ROHAIZAD A. RAHIM

IS PARLIAMENT a place where laws are made or, as recent events have demonstrated, an avenue for its disgruntled members to air their personal grouses?

What was Datuk Mohd Said Yusof thinking of when he met reporters at the Parliament House lobby on Tuesday? That there was malpractice in the Customs Department, all because he could not buy a seized Mercedes-Benz?

The Jasin MP, who has an ongoing feud with the department, has somehow diminished the stature of the august House. Surely there are other avenues for him to seek recourse when he was told that he could not buy the Mercedes-Benz that he was eyeing.

Although it was not quite clear what Mohd Said’s thoughts were when he told reporters he could not get the “luxury car” that he wanted, one thing’s for certain – voters in the parliamentary constituency of Jasin in Malacca expect more than that from their elected representative.

Certainly the voters would want him to concentrate on more serious issues, such as improving their livelihood and attending to their basic needs. Instead, the people of Jasin had their representative complaining that he could not get his Merc.

If Mohd Said is not careful from now on, he will only become a liability to the ruling coalition and provide an avenue for the opposition to continue criticising the Government.

It would be good for Mohd Said, and for other elected representatives, to remember that when they were elected to the House, they had promised to make life better for their constituents.

The election is a contract between two parties. The voters gave their support in the hope that those they had backed would bring up issues affecting them. Voters want a better life and, most certainly, would not care if their elected representative had been denied the chance to buy a seized luxury car.

The MPs’ behaviour in the House would also reflect on the government of the day. When Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi chose the candidates for the last general election, he did not anticipate this.

As MPs, Abdullah would expect them to spearhead his efforts to bring prosperity to the people and to make the nation a better place for all.

Abdullah would also expect representatives of the ruling coalition to set a good example to the people who voted them in, not what Mohd Said had done.

All his previous allegations against the Customs have been answered. Even this most recent one has been clarified by Customs director-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Abdul Hamid.

As for the Parliamentary Select Committee on Integrity, would it be a wise move on its part to call up Abdul Rahman to reply to unsubstantiated allegations made by Mohd Said?

The committee should remember that Mohd Said, until now, has not provided compelling evidence to back his allegations. Most of his allegations were made in Parliament, where he has immunity.

All he claimed was that he had evidence of Customs' malpractices. Perhaps the committee, before asking Abdul Rahman, should ask Mohd Said to furnish evidence.

Should the committee proceed with asking Abdul Rahman to explain before evidence was presented, it (the committee) would have endorsed Mohd Said’s allegations against the department – sans evidence.

The Parliament is a place where serious business is conducted. Qualified privileges apart, its members should not abuse these privileges to air petty complaints.

As for Mohd Said, he should take a breather and reflect on what it really means to be a Yang Berhormat. He is there to serve the people, not whine when he could not buy a seized car.

Another thing Mohd Said should take heed of: the offer made to him by Customs is not a right to buy – it is a privilege.

From: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp...632&sec=nation

[angel1011]

can't agree more on the comment by Rohaizad. Seriously, this Mohd Said got nothing better to do?

[angel1011]

MP was offered another Merc

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS



PUTRAJAYA: Jasin MP Datuk Mohd Said Yusof, who had originally eyed a Mercedes-Benz CLK, was offered a Masterpiece model as an alternative by the Customs Department as the model he wanted had already been booked by another person.

The department's preventive unit director Mohd Adnan Ariffin said: “When the MP applied to buy the car, it had already been booked by an individual whose identity I am not at liberty to reveal.

“Out of respect for him as an MP, we tried to accommodate him by offering another Mercedes-Benz model, but he spurned our offer.”

Mohd Adnan said yesterday that when Mohd Said declined the car offered to him, the department advised him “to scout around at other state offices to see if there were any cars he was interested in.”

On Tuesday, Mohd Said disclosed that he was offered a chance to buy a confiscated luxury car but was shown “some useless cars” as the one he wanted had been reserved for another person.

When asked to explain why Mohd Said had given the impression that he was offered other types of car and not a luxury car, Mohd Adnan said: “No, we offered him a Mercedes-Benz. Only the model was different from what he wanted.”

On claims that several MPs had never enjoyed the privilege of being offered a chance to buy a confiscated luxury car at a special price, Mohd Adnan said they might not have known that they could apply to buy such cars.

“How can we make them an offer when they have not applied? We cannot go around asking MPs, VIPs or senior government officials if they want to buy confiscated luxury cars.

“If they had applied to purchase such a car, I am sure they would have been given the opportunity to buy one.”

He added that the department did not advertise the cars on sale unless they were to be auctioned or disposed of.

“The director-general has the power to dispose of all goods seized or confiscated by the Customs and this includes luxury cars,” he said, adding that of the RM25bil revenue collected by the department last year, less than 1% was from the sale of confiscated luxury cars.

When contacted at Parliament, Mohd Said denied the report in a Malay newspaper which quoted the department's deputy director-general (prevention) Datuk Mat Yusof Abdullah as saying that he wanted a Masterpiece in the first place.

“I went to see the latest Mercedes model, the CLK, and not the Masterpiece. He wanted to give me the Masterpiece but my wife already drives one so why should I get another?”

He added that the department should not be replying to queries through the newspapers.

“What I raised in Parliament was a general question. It is his job and responsibility to provide the facts to the ministry and let the ministry reply to me as an MP,” he said.

WTF? why are the Customs attending to his every whine? This is one bastard MP that only has his own best interest at heart, whining over a Merc model he can't have.

[Chai]

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