Is the MACC lying, yet again?

By MT Webmaster Last updated Apr 17, 2016

Or is this going to be the first time in so many years that people are finally going to believe that the MACC is telling the truth? I suppose you never know. Maybe at last people are going to start believing the MACC and will believe that the MACC officer who was arrested was not involved in trying to destroy Lim Guan Eng’s file.

THE CORRIDORS OF POWER

Raja Petra Kamarudin

Almost two weeks ago, on 31st March 2016, the MACC Chief Commissioner issued a press statement — reiterating their earlier statements made in September and December 2015 — to say that the murder of Anthony Kevin Morais is not related to the 1MDB investigation.

In fact, the MACC Chief Commissioner said, Kevin was transferred out of the MACC a year before investigations on 1MDB began (you can read the full statement by the MACC below or on http://www.sprm.gov.my/index.php/en/component/tags/tag/106-kevin-morais).

Nevertheless, this did not stop the foreign media and blogs from the UK, the US, Australia, etc., from still insisting that Kevin’s murder was linked to the 1MDB investigation. In fact, they even insist that Hussain Najadi’s murder is linked to the 1MDB investigation as well, although there is no evidence to suggest so.

It seems Hussain’s son said that his father spoke to him regarding 1MDB over lunch shortly before he was murdered. And, because of that lunch conversation, that is evidence enough that Hussain’s murder is related to 1MDB.

But then Hussain had sold his bank (AmBank) about 34 years ago and even then AmBank has not been implicated in any dealings with 1MDB. So what has Hussain got to do with 1MDB?

Anyway, the bottom line is, people are not going to believe whatever the MACC says. When people under interrogation are thrown out the window of the MACC office, most Malaysians believe that these people were murdered and that they did not accidentally fall. Whatever explanation the MACC may offer is rejected and treated as lies.

The same happened with the Rosli Dahlan and Ramli Yusuff case. The MACC arrested them and charged them for the crime of not declaring their assets. This was later proven false and it was revealed that they had, in fact, declared their assets. And, worst of all, their assets were not in the tens of millions like what the MACC had alleged.

Invariably, the judge threw the case out of court without even going to trial and the judge even commented that the witness was lying. And even more interesting is that the MACC officer who conducted the arrest and assaulted Rosli in the process was himself convicted of corruption and was given a very long jail sentence.

Then when the MACC said they did not draft a charge sheet against Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, and even made a police report saying that the charge sheet is a fake, people would rather believe bloggers from the UK, newspapers from the US, and TV stations from Australia, who contradict what the MACC said.

In short, no one seems to believe anything that the MACC says anymore. And did the MACC not themselves admit last year that they are suffering from a drop in public trust and confidence?

Well, now the MACC denies that one of their officers was arrested for trying to destroy a file regarding Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s case (read the news item below). I doubt people are going to believe this considering everything that the MACC has been saying over the last few years has been rejected as lies.

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Statement On Kevin Morais

As the Attorney General and Investigation Director of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), Dato Azam Baki had publicly confirmed in September and December 2015 respectively, the late Dato’ Anthony Kevin Morais was never involved in any investigation relating to 1MDB or the Prime Minister.

Kevin was transferred out of the MACC in July 2014, one year before the investigations into 1MDB even began, and never attended any of the special task force meetings chaired by the former Attorney General, Tan Sri Gani Patail. We would like to put the record straight that MACC has never sought advice from Kevin on both cases.

Therefore, Kevin could not be, and was not, involved in writing any charge sheet relating to 1MDB or the Prime Minister. Any statement to the contrary is completely false.

Kevin’s death was a tragedy. He should be allowed to rest in peace and not used like a political football.

TAN SRI ABU KASSIM MOHAMED

CHIEF COMMISSIONER

MALAYSIAN ANTI-CORRUPTION COMMISSION

31 MARCH 2016

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Arrest of MACC officer nothing to do with Lim Guan Eng’s case

(The Star) – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on Monday denied that the arrest of one of its officers recently had to do with an investigation involving Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.

MACC director (Investigation) Datuk Azam Baki said the officer, in his 30s, was arrested on suspicion of soliciting bribe of RM20,000 as protection money from a police officer who was being investigated by the commission.

“Therefore, I wish to clarify that the allegation he (officer) was arrested for attempting to dispose off evidence in the investigation involving Lim is not true.

“The officer, who works at the Putrajaya MACC was arrested by MACC in Bangi, Selangor,” he told Bernama.

He was commenting an allegation posted on a web blog which said MACC was attempting to dispose of evidence in the investigation on the purchase of a bungalow at below the market price by Lim by arresting the officer, who is from Penang, together with RM50,000, in Putrajaya.

It also claimed that it was informed by a source in MACC that the officer’s arrest also had to do with an investigation on the alleged abuse of government fund, worth more than RNM100 million, at the Youth and Sports Ministry.

Azam said the officer was arrested at about noon last April 7 in Bangi and MACC found RM20,000 on him.

The investigation paper is ready and the officer would be charged in court tomorrow, he added.

Raja Petra Kamarudin RPK