SEPUTEH MP Teresa Kok is seemingly in a state of duress with detractors questioning her innocence to accusing her of making two of her former aides fall guys over a RM699,216 discrepancy in smartboard and smart TV purchases by schools in her constituency.
She has even been accused of betraying the loyalty of her staunch supporters even though she has stated in her self-defence that she is clueless as to how the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) sniffed out the case given neither her current staff nor herself had tipped off the graft buster over the matter.
In fact, the reputation of the six-term DAP lawmaker has taken a further beating following a viral video of the mother of her ex-aide identified as Edmund Teoh having broke down as she pleaded for answers about her son’s detention by the MACC.
Revealing that her son had worked for the Seputeh MP since he was just 17 years old, the mother identified as Madam Ng went on to claim that Kok had even visited their home in the early days to request her husband to design a leaflet for a golf tournament.
Ther heart-wrenching clip of the mother whom herself had her statement recorded by the MACC could be traced to ‘internal political turbulence’ as Seputeh DAP Youth chief Joel Jalleh who stood in solidarity with Edmond and another unnamed aide claimed that the chain of events is related to the DAP Central Executive Committee (CEC) election.
For the record, both ex-aides who are in their 30s had earlier been subject to a four-day remand order at the request of MACC on suspicion of soliciting and receiving a RM500,000 bribe.
Kok, 60, reckoned that the MACC probe could be pertaining to the overpricing of LG smartboards as detractors questioned how a graft could be committed right under her nose by her ex-staff who were responsible for managing financial matters and handling government allocations at her service centre,
“At end-October 2024, I was informed by the Federal Territories Implementation Coordination Unit (WPKL ICU) that my constituency allocation had been used to disburse RM99,000 to each of 16 schools for the purchase of smartboards and smart TVs,” she clarified in a statement.
“However, I had never approved such an allocation on this scale. Subsequent inquiries revealed that the company which issued the invoices did not exist – it was a fraudulent entity.”
Eventually, an official LG dealer confirmed that the actual cost for three smartboards and three smart TVs should have been RM55,299 instead of RM99,000, hence a discrepancy of RM43,701 per school which amounted to a total of RM699,216 across 16 schools.
By pleading her cooperation to the MACC to uphold transparency and justice, Kok is seen as evert ready to turn her back on people who are loyal to her or having no qualms to pin down others in the quest to safeguard her own political career.
Whether both her ex-staff were victims of circumstances or otherwise, Kok is said to be fighting a seemingly uphill battle to keep her political influential intact at her party’s upcoming CEC election on March 16.
This is given that the former political secretary to DAP’s retired supremo Tan Sri Lim Kit Siang is said to be aligned to party chairman Lim Guan Eng’s faction which is facing mounting challenge from the Anthony Loke Siew Fook (secretary-general)-Nga Kor Ming (vice-chairman) camp.
For the record, Kok who is also the DAP vice-chairman herself will be among the 70 candidates vying for the 30 CEC seats.
Source : Focus
Teresa Kok issued a statement yesterday regarding the arrest and remand by the MACC in the corruption case involving her two former aides.
However, there are several major contradictions in her defense:
She is trying to portray herself as a “Whistleblower” only after the MACC has already taken action
• She admitted to knowing about this procurement issue since October 2024.
• But why did she only come forward to claim she was a whistleblower after the MACC had made arrests?
• If she was truly serious about fighting corruption, why didn’t she report the issue to the MACC earlier or expose it to the public sooner? She herself admitted that neither she nor her office reported the case to the MACC. In fact, failing to report a known crime is also an offense.
The MACC could begin prosecuting her based on her own admission. She admitted that her office approved the government allocation for the procurement project involving 16 schools in her constituency, amounting to nearly RM1.6 million.
• If she wasn’t involved in the approval process, how could these allocations be disbursed without her oversight?
• Two of her former officers, who managed her service center’s finances, are now under MACC investigation. Could they have acted without her knowledge? If so, this highlights serious mismanagement.
How could her office approve RM1.6 million in allocations without her being aware of it? ⸻ She is shifting the blame to others
• She questioned the role of the Federal Territory Education Department in directing schools to purchase LG smartboards from a non-existent company.
• But why didn’t her office verify the company’s legitimacy before approving the funds? Her attempt to divert responsibility only raises further doubts about her level of oversight. ⸻ Her statement is more of a damage-control attempt rather than a bold stand for justice.
• If she was truly committed to fighting mismanagement, she should have reported the case earlier—not only after the MACC took action.
• Instead of owning up to the failures in her office, she appears to be distancing herself from the scandal. ⸻
Conclusion Teresa Kok’s statement raises more questions than answers. The contradictions in her response suggest that she is trying to deflect blame rather than take full responsibility. If she was really committed to transparency, she would have acted much earlier, rather than waiting for the authorities to intervene.
Where got people so stupid to admit that they didn’t report the crime even though they already knew her staff had committed crime ?
Not reporting a crime when you know there is crime had taken place is ALSO a crime.
MACC can already start charging her under Section 25(1) of the MACC act.
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