MCA president Dr Ling Liong Sik should be investigated for obstructing investigations conducted by the Anti-Corruption Agency in 1997, said DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang today.

He said the ACA should publicly explain whether or not it will open a new investigation against Ling (photo) following a statement by businessman Soh Chee Wen that Ling had asked Soh not to implicate him and his wife, Ena, in the ACA probe then.

"If Soh is telling the truth, then it reveals that Ling had committed an offence of obstructing an investigation as provided under Section 19(1) of the Anti-Corruption Act 1998 which carries the maximum penalty of 10 years' jail or RM100,000 fine," said Lim in a press statement.

Soh, a former political colleague of the MCA chief, left the country in 1999 after he was charged with two offences in connection to defrauding a now defunct stockbroking firm of over RM500 million. A warrant of arrest was later issued.

The controversial businessman's return on May 14 was widely seen as a trump card used by certain quarters to accelerate the resignation of Ling as party president. Soh is currently out on a RM2 million bail.

Re-open probe

Meanwhile, Lim said Malaysians are also entitled to ask the ACA whether it is going to re-open its investigation initiated five years ago based on the report he (Lim) lodged against Ling and his son, Hee Leong.

The report urged the ACA to probe how Hee Leong, at the age of 27, managed to embark on corporate acquisitions exceeding RM1.2 billion in a matter of months and whether there had been "improper" use and "influence" of his father 's political and ministerial position.

"I have been asking for the outcome of the ACA investigations into my 1997 report both inside and outside parliament over the past five years but to no avail," he added.

In a related issue, Lim said Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim should be commended if he can bring about legislative changes binding enforcement agencies like the ACA to provide regular updates and the outcome of their investigations.

However, he said the progress reports should not only be revealed to the government but also to parliament.

Yesterday, Rais who is also de facto law minister told malaysiakini that he was working on a proposal requiring the authorities to provide scheduled progress reports on their investigations to ensure accountability and transparency.

He said this following his earlier criticism against the authorities for sitting on 21 high profile cases.

White Paper

Lim also commented on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's admission that there was some truth to the claims made by Rais and the premier's promise to "look into" the outstanding investigations.

"The question is how Mahathir is going to look into the long-outstanding high profile cases and how is he going to account to the public on ACA's investigations which seemed to have gone nowhere including the investigations into Perwaja Steel's RM10 billion scandal and the one against Ling and his son," he said.

The opposition leader said he wanted to know whether Mahathir will present a White Paper when parliament sits on June 17 to explain the status of each of the 21 outstanding cases and reveal the result of investigations conducted against all cabinet ministers in the past decade.