Malaysian Opposition Accuses Prime Minister of Nepotism
Malaysia’s opposition accused Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on Monday of trying to shield his son from an investigation into a company’s role in making nuclear parts for Libya.
The opposition demanded a full parliamentary inquiry after a police probe cleared a company controlled by Abdullah’s son of knowing involvement in the nuclear trafficking network of Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan.
Azizah Ismail, head of the National Justice Party, accused the government of defending the company, Scomi Precision Engineering, or SCOPE, “as if it were a government-owned company.”
“Abusing diplomatic machinery and resources to defend a private company owned by the son of the prime minister is clear proof of how cronyism and nepotism [have] been shamefully institutionalized ... in Malaysia,” Azizah said.
Abdullah’s son is the majority shareholder in Scomi, an oil-and-gas company whose fully owned subsidiary SCOPE made about 25,000 centrifuge parts destined for Libya’s nuclear program. They were seized en route to Libya last year.
After a three-month investigation, police concluded that SCOPE had been “misled” into making the parts.
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