KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 23 — Three Opposition MPs have raised alarm over an attempted RM50 million bribe to Dr Zaliha Mustafa when she was health minister to kill the tobacco generational end game (GEG) policy.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) health committee chairman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi noted that the GEG was decoupled from the Control of Smoking Products for Public Health Bill and passed by Parliament as Act 852, even though Dr Zaliha’s former political secretary, G. Sivamalar, alleged that the health minister had rejected the RM50 million offer.
The Kuala Langat MP also pointed out that then-Deputy Health Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni once admitted that industry players had lobbied the government to drop the proposed generational ban on tobacco and vape from the tobacco bill, though this was denied by Health Minister Dzulkefly Ahmad.
“The big question now is whether Act 852 has been tainted with elements of corruption,” said Dr Yunus in a statement today.
“Failure to report any bribe offers is a serious criminal offence under the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act.”
Sivamalar told CodeBlue last Saturday that neither she nor Dr Zaliha had lodged a report with the MACC or police over the RM50 million bribe offer because they “didn’t want to waste time”.
“The MACC must act firmly and transparently. The individual or party alleged to have made the bribery offer should be disclosed to the public, and a thorough investigation must be conducted to determine whether there was indeed acceptance of bribes among policymakers or lawmakers,” said Dr Yunus.
“If it is proven that bribery occurred in the process of dropping the GEG from Act 852, this would be an extremely serious matter, demonstrating direct interference by the tobacco industry in the legislative process of our country.”
Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairwoman Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who is Masjid Tanah MP from PN, has similarly called for an independent and comprehensive probe by the MACC into the alleged bribe offer to Dr Zaliha.
“This isn’t a matter of whether the RM50 million offer was rejected, but why it was not reported and kept under wraps instead,” she said in a video on TikTok yesterday. “The people deserve to know if public health policies were put on the negotiation table with bribery offers.”
Pengkalan Chepa MP Ahmad Marzuk Shaary from PN wrote on Facebook yesterday that attempts to bribe and failure to report such offers are a criminal offence under the MACC Act.
Section 25 of the MACC Act 2009 legally requires people to report bribe offers made to them. Failure to report bribery transactions, including offers, is a serious criminal offence, subject to a fine not exceeding RM100,000, jail for up to 10 years, or both upon conviction.
“The principle is clear: silence is not protection; it is a criminal liability. Integrity begins with the courage to report,” said the Opposition MP.
Senator Dr RA Lingeshwaran praised Dr Zaliha’s “courage, integrity, and sense of duty” in purportedly rejecting the alleged RM50 million bribe to abandon the GEG policy.
“Standing firm in the face of such pressure is exemplary and reinforces public trust in those holding positions of responsibility,” the DAP lawmaker said in a statement to CodeBlue yesterday.
However, he pointed out that Section 25 of the MACC Act imposes a duty to report any offer of gratification. “Simply rejecting the offer does not remove this legal obligation.”
Dr Lingeshwaran called for a report to be lodged with the MACC and police immediately.
In a statement issued this morning, following public uproar over her initial allegation of the RM50 million attempted bribe, Sivamalar claimed that the tribute article she wrote for her former boss was taken out of context and misquoted.
“The article was never intended to allege misconduct or suggest that any improper engagement took place. Its sole purpose was to highlight Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha’s integrity and leadership. Unfortunately, a small portion was extracted without context and has since gone viral, resulting in misunderstanding,” said Sivamalar.
Sivamalar’s December 18 op-ed for Malaysia Gazette praised Dr Zaliha’s virtues in public office when the latter was federal territories minister and health minister, before Dr Zaliha was dropped in a Cabinet reshuffle last week.
“Di Kementerian Kesihatan, prinsip itu sudah lama terpamer. Apabila berdepan dengan syarikat tembakau dan kepentingan korporat besar, beliau tidak berganjak. Pernah ditawarkan RM50 juta untuk menggugurkan dasar Generational End Game. Beliau menolak tanpa ragu dan meminta mereka keluar. Saya berada di situ. Saya menyaksikannya sendiri,” she wrote.
[At the Ministry of Health (MOH), she had long shown her principles. She stood firm when facing tobacco companies and large corporate interests. She was once offered RM50 million to drop the generational end game policy. She rejected it without hesitation and asked them to leave. I was there. I witnessed it myself].
This was the only anecdote about Dr Zaliha’s time at the MOH from December 2022 to December 2023 in Sivamalar’s article.
In her replies to CodeBlue last Saturday, Sivamalar claimed that she couldn’t remember details about the incident, like the date, location, or who had offered the RM50 million bribe, simply saying it occurred two years ago.
But today, the PKR deputy secretary-general claimed that the incident occurred “at the lobby” when she was attending to visitors and “a person or group” had requested to meet Dr Zaliha.
“When asked about the purpose of the meeting, it became apparent that their intention was to negotiate the withdrawal of the proposed bill, with implied offers being suggested,” Sivamalar said in her media statement.
“I immediately informed Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha of this request. She categorically refused to meet anyone and instructed that they be asked to leave. I conveyed this instruction, and the individuals left. Datuk Seri Dr Zaliha did not meet them at any time, nor did she entertain any discussion of such nature.”
Sivamalar’s press statement today omitted mention of the RM50 million figure.
“In my assessment at the time, there was no serious or explicit bribery offer that met the threshold requiring immediate reporting. Had there been any clear, direct, or explicit attempt to offer a bribe, it would have been reported to the authorities without hesitation,” she said, adding that she would be filing a report with the MACC to “formally place the full facts on record”.
