Kickback report causes stir in KL

Kickback report causes stir in KL

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was urged on Monday to make a parliamentary statement about allegations that a Japanese firm paid a $2.8 million kickback to win a contract with Malaysia's telephone company.

Lim Kit Siang, chairman of the opposition Democratic Action Party, said the premier should explain why the Anti-Corruption Agency had been "paralyzed into silence" over the report.

Telekom Malaysia said it knew nothing about any kickbacks but would investigate the claims, which it took "most seriously".

A Japanese newspaper said on Friday that Japan's Mitsui and Co. had paid about 300 million yen (US$2.8 million) in kickbacks in return for a big order from Telekom Malaysia.