Will statutory declaration clear BN man?

Will a statutory declaration be enough to clear Barisan Nasional candidate for the Permatang Pasir by-election Rohaizat Othman of the misdeed he has been accused of?

This is the question posed by opposition stalwart Lim Kit Siang in response to Rohaizats statement that he would heed Umno deputy president Muhyiddin Yassin's advice to make a statutory declaration to protect himself from accusations made by various quarters.

Rohaizat's image took a beating when it was revealed that the 38-year-old lawyer had been disbarred after being found guilty of financial misconduct. Umno however has defended its candidate.

Meanwhile, Lim said Rohaizat has to address two questions:

• Whether he was found guilty of serious misconduct including 'breach of trust, dishonesty, shown gross disregard' of his client's interests 'tantamount to a conduct unbefitting that of an advocate and solicitor which conduct as such brings the legal profession into disrepute' and struck off the roll of advocates and solicitors last March, which was upheld by the High Court, and

• Whether a statutory declaration can clear him of his 'personal conduct' resulting in his being struck off the lawyers' roll?

Ex-partner blames him

"The first question is one of fact, for which Rohaizat cannot deny even though the Umno information chief Ahmad Maslan had called Rohaizat a hero for assuming responsibility for the improprieties of a former partner Yusri Ishak.

"Yusri has since surfaced to point out that it was Rohaizat who was personally responsible for the misappropriation of the client's monies - for which there has been no rebuttal from Rohaizat (right)," Lim said in a statement.

The DAP stalwart added that if the answer to the second question was 'yes', it would have far-reaching implications.

"Does this mean that the commissioners of oath in the country would be having a roaring business as there would be long queues of people who would want to make statutory declarations that they were not guilty of offences they had been convicted?" he asked.

And if the answer to the second question was 'no', Lim said there would be no point for a statutory declaration.

Ku Li 'summed it up best'

The Ipoh Timor MP said Umno veteran Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had "summed it up best" with his questions.

Razaleigh, a former Umno vice-president, had asked if Umno was so parched of candidates that it had to name a disbarred lawyer.

The Gua Musang MP also questioned if financial misconduct had become so common that it was no longer seen as a factor when deciding on a candidate's suitability.

Come Aug 25, Rohaizat would face PAS' Mohd Salleh Man for the state seat in Penang.