I did not misspend LDP’s money – Liew
LONDON: De facto Law Minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong denies the monies credited in the Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) account was misspent by him as all transactions were recorded and accounted for in the accounting books which subsequently were audited after acceptance and approval by the party’s delegates from 2006 to 2012.”
Liew said he has no knowledge to what happened to the party’s monies from 2013 onwards as he was no longer the party’s president then.
“There were still monies left in the party’s account when they suspended me as the party’s member and removed me unconstitutionally as party’s chief sometimes in October 2013,” he said.
Liew said former Minister of Special Tasks for Sabah’s Chief Minister’s Department, Datuk Teo Chee Kang and LDP Acting President Chin Su Phin would be accountable from the moment they suspended him from office in 2013 and seized the monies in the bank’s account without his knowledge.
“How can I have access to the office when they locked it?” he added.
“They even changed my signatory in the bank without my knowledge and took away all the party’s files, statements of account and other related documents,” he said after a session with Sabah Malaysian university students at the Malaysia Hall here on Saturday.
Liew is currently in London with Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his (Mahathir) second leg of working visit to the United Kingdom (UK) after attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 29.
Earlier, a blog known as steadyaku47.com has claimed that a total of two cheques worth RM3.5 million had been issued by Datuk Seri Najib Razak under the name LDP in 2013.
The blog writer alleged that Liew, who was a former LDP president back then had pressured and forced the party’s treasurer to co-sign the cheques and cashed them out without the knowledge of other members.
However, according to a news report dated September 27, Chin claimed that the statement was in fact made by the party’s secretary-general to the police two weeks ago.
“In this case, the secretary general was not Teo Chee Kang as he appointed someone else in 2013 when he was made the party’s president then.
“Whoever was the secretary general who gave statement to the police now has no personal knowledge of the matter.
“It’s based on hearsay and speculations,” said Liew.
In the report, Chin said he believed that the matter will be brought forward to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Liew said the accusation that he pressured and forced Ken Fong who was the treasurer general then, was simply unbelievable.
“It shows the extent of lies they are willing to go just to achieve their vicious agenda.
“If anyone of you had known Ken Fong, you would never believe that he could be forced to sign a cheque by me or anyone else for that matter,” he said, adding that he has no doubt the truth shall prevail.
He went on to explain that all withdrawals of monies from the party’s account will require the signature of the treasurer general as he is the compulsory signatory.
“The other signatories were either the president, which is me, or the secretary general who was Teo Chee Kang then,” he said.
“I was LDP’s chief for seven years from 2006 to 2013, there was no way it could be run without political funding as everyone would know.
“However, I failed to retain the Sandakan Parliamentary which I won in 2008. LDP also lost Likas but managed to win three other states seats in the 13th General election namely Tg Kapor by Teo Chee Kang, Karamunting by Charlie Pang Su Phin and Merotai by Pang Nyuk Ming,” he said.
“A leadership crisis soon developed in late August less than three months after I lost the 2013 general election on May 5th,” he said.
“They even passed resolutions in the subsequent general meetings of the party where they managed to change my signatory in the bank to theirs,” he added.
He also believed the party’s financial statements were audited and passed and accepted by the party’s delegates during their subsequent Congresses in 2013 till 2017.
“As for 2018, I am not sure if they have hold their Congress yet, and it would be interesting to see what would be reported by them on their election expenses for the just concluded 14th General Election on May 9 where all their candidates lost,” said Liew.
Asked if he had been issued a letter by the police or Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to answer on the issue of the political funding of RM3.5 million given by Najib in 2012 and 2013, Liew said he has not been called or issued with any letter by either party.
“I only saw a letter circulated in the social media purportedly from the police dated Sept 7 addressed to LDP but since I had left LDP, it doesn’t concern me at all,” he said.
However, Liew said he is prepared to give the police his side of the story if required.
“In fact, I had disclosed to Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad about the matter on the first week of my appointment as the Federal Cabinet minister on July 2.”
“Subsequently I had also told officers of the MACC the same story,” he said.