Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Dewan Rakyat must debate arrest of MACC officers, says Anwar



Dewan Rakyat must debate arrest of MACC officers, says Anwar


Anwar Ibrahim wants the government to provide some clarity on the action it has taken over the case.

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim wants speaker Azhar Harun to allow the Dewan Rakyat to debate the arrest of three Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers in a probe involving “a former department head”.

Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) had filed a motion yesterday for the matter to be debated in the Dewan Rakyat, saying it was an important case and of public interest.

He had asked Azhar again today to allow the motion and for the matter to be debated, to which the speaker said he would give him a written reply before 2.30pm today.

Anwar (PH-Port Dickson) then rose to urge Azhar to allow the matter to be debated by the MPs, saying it did not only concern the MACC but various agencies.

He said it also involved the police, the finance ministry, and Bank Negara Malaysia since the matter involved the issue of counterfeit monies.

“So I ask that you make room for the matter to be debated, so we can get clarity on the government’s action on the matter,” he told the Dewan Rakyat today.

On Monday, the MACC issued a statement saying it had arrested three of its officers last week.

It added that the officers were brought before the Putrajaya magistrates’ court and remanded under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code for six days from Sept 14-19, to assist in the investigation into allegations of abuse of power and malpractice in the case involving “a former department head”.

This came after the Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department (CID) released a statement refuting an Edisi Siasat blog post that claimed the police were “afraid” to investigate reports against the three MACC officers for allegedly stealing confiscated money.

The blog post alleged that former Malaysian External Intelligence Organisation director-general Hasanah Abdul Hamid had tried to reclaim US$6 million (RM25.1 million) in cash that was confiscated from a Cyberjaya apartment after she was granted a discharge not amounting to an acquittal in her criminal breach of trust (CBT) case in April.

According to the blog, Hasanah had claimed that a portion of the cash was missing and was replaced with counterfeit notes, and that she had made a report on the matter.

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