Vote for a better candidate

Arif hold no responsibility in brother's scandal

The accusation that Barisan Nasional's Permatang Pauh candidate Arif Shah Omar Shah was involved in his tycoon elder brother Amin Shah RM24.3 billion controversial contract is purely baseless as there is no police report being lodged against him.

To accuse anybody is a simple matter especially using ICT to easily disseminate any form of defamation and slander.

But bear in mind that under any legal system including ours, an accusation is considered as mere fiction unless it is backed by a police report such as in the case of Mohd Saiful against Anwar Ibrahim. But so far, there is not even a single police report lodged against Barisan Nasional's Permatang Pauh candidate Arif Shah for any wrong doing including issue involving his elder brother.

After all, Amin Shah took responsibility over the fiasco of his business that led him to be declared a bankrupt late last year.

But accusation is still being widely circulated by SMS among Permatang Pauh Chinese voters that Arif Shah is involved in the fiasco forcing him to deny that he had any link to his tycoon elder brother PSC Industries chairman Amin Shah's involvement in a RM24.3 billion controversial contract to build the 27 high-tech heavily-armed offshore patrol vessels for the navy.

Arif Shah said he has no direct involvement in any of his family members' businesses and has never sat on any of their board as a director.

The only exception, he said, was that he was made a director under certain circumstances in order for him to receive some allowances to fund his political activities.

The widely-circulating SMS, which was in Mandarin, has called on the voters to reject Barisan Nasional's Permatang Pauh candidate as he was the younger brother to Amin Shah, an UMNO associate and chairperson of PSC Industries Bhd.

The SMS claimed that Amin Shah has used up RM24.3 billion of taxpayers money in his failed venture to build vessels for the army. Arif Shah also denied he was chosen as the candidate due to his brother Amin Shah's close tie with Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also UMNO Deputy President.

"Most of the corporate (figures) in Malaysia are somehow having a good relationship with the leadership of the day. Maybe at the time, he (Amin Shah) has to kowtow (to certain leaders) and thus having a good relationship (with the leaders)," he said.