PAS has called on the Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) to make public its progress into a report lodged by Beserah state assembly representative Fauzi Abdul Rahman against former Pahang Umno chief Khalil Yaacob over logging concessions.

PAS Youth chief Mahfuz Omar said the corruption watchdog should be more transparent, independent and effective in its efforts to pursue complaints of corruption.

He said the agency should not be selective in looking into such charges and that, having initiated investigations, it should then not drag its feet in building a case.

"This is all the more so (in the Pahang case) when the report had been filed by such a prominent Umno personality as Fauzi," he said when contacted.

In his 2001 report, Fauzi claimed that the Umno liaison office under Khalil's stewardship had flouted logging regulations by extracting more than the quantity stipulated in its permit.

Following this an internal inquiry was launched against Khalil who is now information minister and Umno national secretary-general - but has yet to be completed . However, three other lower-ranking state party officials were suspended for six years over the logging concessions.

Another logging scandal fell on Umno Pahang recently after it was ordered to pay RM70,000 compensation to timber company Seruan Gemilang Makmur for allegedly breaching a contract estimated to be worth about RM100 million.

However, Umno Pahang has filed an appeal against the ruling and claims to be an unwitting victim.

Follow-up action

Meanwhile, Mahfuz reiterated that ACA should not bow down to pressure when investigating complaints.

"In previous cases, there was strong evidence against (International Trade and Industry Minister) Rafidah Aziz and (former Malacca Chief Minister) Abdul Rahim Thamby Chik. What's the use of the ACA compiling evidence if the case is not taken up by the Attorney-General's Chambers," he said.

(In the mid-1990s, opposition leaders had accused Rafidah of corrupt practice, but the cabinet cleared her name. Rahim was cleared by the police of a complaint of statutory rape.)

"The ACA should be completely transparent," he stressed, adding that the agency should ensure that there is follow-up action into its investigations by the relevant authorities.