WE all know the protracted issue of Saham Amanah Sabah (SAS) which was launched on a share value of RM1 and then got reduced to 20 sen ("cheaper than kueh pisang" as many people put it) and caused a loss of more than RM400 million involving 55,000 investors. And it is still raging today, with certain groups, especially BN leaders trying to point their accusing fingers at Datuk Yong Teck Lee who happened to be the Chief Minister when SAS was introduced. Poor Yong, the strategy seems to be to make the people believe it was all his fault.
I fully support that an investigation be carried out on the SAS affair. If Yong is the culprit that caused the massive loss to the 55,000 investors, then let him be answerable, morally and legally. To me this is the only way to solve the whole issue. But it is rather disappointing that the government seems to be reluctant to produce a White Paper on the issue. Even as early as 2004, Yong had called for a full investigation into the messy Affair, saying "I hope findings of any investigation conducted on SAS by the authorities, including the Securities Commission, should be made public so that the truth would come out." He even welcomed the DAP's statement that it would make a report to the police and thethen ACA (now named MACC) on the matter. The Chief Minister, Datuk Musa Aman, appealed then that the issue be not politicized, to which LDP President, Tan Sri Chong Kah Kiat said he was not politicising the issue but was “merely clearing the air on certain facts... This is not politicising, this is telling the world what should be told. This is explaining to the people what had happened...I'm talking about responsibility. If people can stop politicizing other matters and if certain people themselves can behave, then everyone else also can behave."
In response Yong expressed surprise that although Chong said hewas telling the world what should be told, he (Chong) declined to name the culprits behind the losses suffered by SAS investors. Chong didn t say it was Yong. Yong said then that Chong's "comment that he does not want to reveal the identity of the culprits shows he is deliberately concealing information at the expense of the 55,000 investors of SAS by saying he wants to give face to the persons who are responsible for the losses suffered by Saham Sabah investors. The people have a right to be suspicious who is he protecting and why. The people of Sabah, especially the 55,000 investors of Saham Sabah, have a right to know the identity of the person whom Chong says he wants to give face to." To date the names of those responsible have never been revealed by Chong.
