Don’t accuse us of cover up, MACC tells DAP

(The Star) – There was not no attempt to cover up any alleged wrongdoing in Majlis Amanah Rakyat’s (Mara) purchase of an apartment in Australia, says the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

Its deputy chief commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdul said investigations into Mara’s business deal in Melbourne had begun in March this year, and not last December as alleged by a DAP leader on Saturday.

“As soon as MACC received information on the case in March 2015, we began the process of profiling the individuals and companies involved in the property purchase.

“MACC received a visit from the Australian police in May, where we engaged in information sharing and began a joint investigation into the case,” Mohd Shukri said in a statement.

He said MACC officers were already in to Melbourne to discuss the case with the Australian police when local daily The Age published its expose on June 23.

“MACC would like to stress that it will run this investigation transparently, independently, and professionally.

“The issue of a cover up does not arise and it is unfair for any party, especially politicians, to make assumptions that MACC is trying to hide anything,” Mohd Shukri said, adding that the status of the investigation would be made known to independent bodies monitoring the anti-graft commission.

“If there are doubts by any parties, they can contact these independent organisations,” he added.

DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang had alleged on Saturday that MACC and Mara may have had received a tip-off on the purported irregularities behind the property purchase.

He claimed that MACC began its probe more than six months ago, and would not have pursued the allegations of corruption in the land deal had it not been reported by The Age.

“It should explain why the MACC action appeared to be more of a ‘cover up’ rather than a ‘bust up’ to bring the culprits to book,” Lim had said in a statement.