Tadi baca Malaysiakini.com. Tiba-tiba aku berdebar-debar rasa seronok. Tak tahu kenapa. Maybe sebab headlines kat Malaysiakini.com, ACA nabs Perwaja ex-boss Eric Chia. Apakah itu bermula kempen Bersih, Cekap, Amanah tajaan Pak Lah? Mudah-mudahan ini jadi petunjuk yang baik bagi pemulihan imej korupsi kerajaan M'sia?

Kita doakan Pak Lah diberikan kekuatan untuk laksanakan apa yang dia canang-canangkan waktu mula-mula pegang jawatan PM. Tempoh 100 hari selepas tarikh perlantikan PM dah pun berakhir hari Ahad lepas, so ape tunggu lagik Tuk? Sapu bersih semua laaa...
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ACA nabs Perwaja ex-boss Eric Chia
Malaysiakini.com - Monday, Feb. 9th, 2004.

Former Perwaja Steel managing director Eric Chia was arrested by Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) officers at his home in Petaling Jaya today.

According to Bernama, Chia, 71, was nabbed at 3.45pm and will be charged at the Sessions Court tomorrow.

His arrest came nine years after the ACA launched a probe - in October 1996 - when it was revealed that the company suffered losses of RM2.98 billion as at Dec 31, 1995, including bank loans amounting to about RM7 billion. 

Former finance minister Anwar Ibrahim - who told Parliament of the stunning losses - also disclosed that Perwaja’s RM815 million interest payments on a yen loan were bleeding the company.

By 1988, Perwaja was insolvent but the government continued to inject additional funds to keep the company alive.

When it was shut down last year, Perwaja had registered losses of RM11 billion.

Dr M's pet project

Perwaja - a plant that processed iron ore to pure iron - was to be the cornerstone of the industrialisation drive that former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad began in the early 1980s.

But the project soon faced serious problems resulting in Japanese shareholder Nippon Steel to abandon the project.

In 1988, Chia was tapped by Mahathir to save the company. He was initially given six months to find out what went wrong with ex-premier’s pet project.

However, Chia stayed with the company for seven years. During his tenure, he put in place a 10-year-plan which saw the setting up of a new company called Perwaja Steel.

However, the multi-billion ringgit losses continued. Chia eventually resigned from Perwaja in 1995, a year before Anwar - who was then also deputy prime minister - made his scathing report to Parliament on the troubled company.

‘Corrupt and unfit’

The ACA investigation had centred on a RM76.4 million payment that Perwaja made to Japanese steel company NKK Corporation through a non-existent company, Frilsham Enterprises Inc, in Hong Kong.

Company officials had also used a RM490 million loan, intended for the purchase of equipment for its mills in Terengganu, for other purposes.

Other irregularities included a false purchase order worth RM58 million and a payment of RM889.2 million from a Japanese company.

The ACA investigation was completed in October 2002 and a report was later submitted to the Attorney-General's Chambers.

The opposition has long called on the authorities to arrest Chia who was accused of being "corrupt and unfit" to serve Perwaja.

However, Chia did not take the accusations laying down.

He sued DAP leader Lim Guan Eng for defamation for a police report lodged by the opposition politician in April 1996, which further alleged Chia’s involvement in the company’s multi-billion ringgit scandal.

Missing money

Two years ago, Mahathir conceded there was possible misappropriation of funds and mismanagement in Perwaja.

He said the government had investigated the matter but the missing money was not easily recovered as it was reported to be in a Swiss bank account.

More recently, Mahathir himself came under the spotlight over his role in the Perwaja scandal when DAP asked for police investigations on the veteran leader.

Anwar, who is now serving a jail sentence for sodomy, lodged a police report five years ago alleging Mahathir's involvement in the scandal.

Independent audit

In his police report, Anwar said international accountant Price Waterhouse was appointed as independent auditors in early 1996 soon after he was alerted that Perwaja was almost insolvent and would require massive injection of funds from the government.

The jailed politican added that the appointment of auditors had to be done because several earlier attempts to obtain detailed information from the management, particularly Chia, failed as he repeatedly claimed that his action had the support and was under the direction of Mahathir.

Anwar also revealed that Chia's claim was further substantiated with letters written by Mahathir himself.

Chia’s arrest today comes in the wake of promises made by new premier Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to arrest corruption in the country.