Alcatel-gate and the Pasembor connection.

It would be reasonable to assume that Alcatel Head Office has a country operating company here in Malaysia. It would for example have incorporated a company say Alcatel Malaysia with 51% interests and balance with local partners. This is how a foreign company gets a hold in Malaysia anyway.

Indeed it has. There is an Alcatel Malaysia. It has 2 local partners. In this case, one of the partners for Alcatel Malaysia was Kumpulan Pinang.

So let's ask Kumpulan Pinang people if they know anything. The other partner's identity I can't recall. But TM which states that it has a robust and transparent procuring system knows that fact and can reveal to the public. It's important for the public to know who the partners are because they may be able to shed more light on this Alcatel bribery case.

Therefore in unraveling the story about Malaysian Consultants A and B, we would have to establish whether there is first of all Alcatel Malaysia. There was indeed at the material time and it was headed by a local politician- Dr Norraesah Mohamad. It was a sensible choice of a country manager because she was after all trained in France and can speak French.

Public spirited people will now want to know whether there is any strategic relationship between this Dr Norraesah with Kumpulan Pinang because she happens to be from Penang. And the MOF who supervises Khazanah and through Khazanah all the companies Khazanah owns such as TM, was Nor Moahamd Yaakob- also from Penang. Probably she may have recommended the two consultants because these consultants also worked for Alcatel Malaysia.

Is there a Penang connection here then? MOF was Nor Mohamad Yaakob the vadey for breakfast eating minister. Norraesah is also from Penang. Kumpulan Pinang is also from Penang. We can almost say this is the Pasembor Mafia.

In what way did the consultants serviced Alcatel? Let's imagine these consultants as people who are paid retainer fees to be on Alcatel's payroll and can be counted on to secure strategic information of potential business.

The country manager will prepare some memo notes identifying the consultants and probably recommends fees payable to them. Probably the country manager also pakat with the consultants for something to wet his or her beak.

Of course we are not certain of these things- these are facts to be established by the investigative committee of TM and also now Axiata. ( formerly Celcom). We hope after finding out, they will also reveal to us. If not, we have to camp at KL Central's Hilton to wait on Shazaly, CEO of Celcom. Before his heart bypass, he is a weekly patron of Hilton.

But then maybe we are saved by different understanding on nomenclatures. What is understood by the American justice system as bribery may not be understood as such by our justice system.

Alcatel Malaysia's boss at that material time, Norraesah MOhamad may say, the total USD 700k was for payment for services actually rendered. The term services is open ended. Maybe it was payment to cut grass at Alcatel Malaysia's rooftop. Stupidity is, as we remember not a crime you know. So what if Alcatel Malaysia wants to pay USD700k to the two consultants to cut grass as Alcatel Malaysia's office rooftop or to feed the Arowana fishes?

We shall then of course have to establish what were the components of services rendered- whether it was for getting confidential information that places Alcatel Malaysia in an unfair bidding position or some innocent act?

For example, I would certainly blow my head off as a competitor to Alcatel if I know, for example, Alcatel Malaysia knows at what price I bidded. That would allow Alcatel Malaysia to offer a better financial package. But I will not mind at all if the payments were for services rendered to feed the prized Arowana fishes. I would however think that Dr Norraesah may have gone off her rockers.

If the information accords Alcatel unfair advantage that was secured through bribery, then that is a different matter. For that matter, the services rendered by the two consultants may even amount to selling state secrets which are treasonable. Treason is punishable by death. Maybe Tort lawyers van ferret out the details how to nail Alcatel Malaysia and the two consultants.

I say nail Alcatel because, it's illogical for us to reject what the US justice system has determined as bribery to be not that by our justice system. I refuse to accept our justice system is that primitive.

In facts revealed, between 2004-2006 Alcatel actually paid bribes to government officials in Malaysia. They said they bribed. They bribed their way to get strategic information to secure a USD 85 million deal for Alcatel to supply products and system for 3G phone services. The end user was Celcom but the parent company then was TM who decides who gets what through the tender board committee.

Who owns TM then? It was 43% owned by MOF who had veto power and that power includes decisions on expenditure and operational decisions. I suppose that included who to give the business too.

Let us get clearer a bit. From 2004-2007, Alcatel Malaysia headed by Dr Norraesah MOahmd paid bribes to employees of TM in exchange for confidential information including information on the prices offered by Alcatel's other competitors.

if I were a member of TM's investigative committee I would as further action, establish the role played by the CEO of TM then who was among those insisting on Alcatel being brought on board despite Alcatel's less than favorable technical accreditation. He was adamant even. Wahid Omar must certainly be called in to explain.

Then my next question which I am sure the public wants to know, what happened to the system and stuff supplied by Alcatel? I heard it didn't work. A few years back Alcatel bought into Nortel ( the American telecommunications vendor) and is now offering Celcom the use of Nortel's system. But Nortel's system and components are also not technically fit for Celcom's purposes. The last I heard, Celcom is suing Alcatel for late delivery and commissioning.

But if what Alcatel wanted to offer was technically unsound right from the beginning, why was it accepted at all? And the more important question, who were the people insisting on accepting Alcatel?