MACC chief slams
whistleblower’s
‘unjustifiable tactic’
Azam Baki says the individual’s lawyer presented MACC with a short audio clip which was unclear but shared other related videos with Malaysiakini.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the lawyer for the individual had only presented the anti-graft agency with a 17-second audio recording which was not clear when he visited its headquarters on Oct 30.
On the other hand, Azam pointed out, the whistleblower shared video recordings related to the alleged bribery to online news portal, Malaysiakini, just days later.
“This is an unjustifiable tactic. Why distrust the enforcement authorities?” he was quoted as saying by Bernama.
Malaysiakini’s first article involving the case was published on the morning of Nov 9.
Azam said during the meeting at MACC’s headquarters, the lawyer claimed the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010 was not enough to protect his client.
The MACC chief, however, maintained that the law was designed to protect individuals who have not engaged in any wrongdoing.
“Crucially, the individual must disclose relevant information to the MACC for us to assess the case,” he said, adding that until now, the purported whistleblower has yet to provide the agency with further information.
“In corruption cases, both giving and receiving bribes are an offence. However, we do assess the degree of involvement of individuals accused of giving bribes.”
Azam said MACC was currently evaluating the merit of videos that have been released publicly to determine whether it should probe the issue.
Previously, Malaysiakini reported that it had sighted eight videos from a whistleblower showing discussions between a businessman and assemblymen about bribes for a project licence.
The whistleblower’s lawyer said his client was willing to provide the MACC with evidence if it could guarantee that he would not be investigated.
However, Azam said the commission rejected this request as they could not provide a written guarantee of immunity without detailed information about the alleged improper conduct.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was also reported to have said that the whistleblower cannot expect protection if he too was involved in the alleged corruption.
Malaysiakini has since then published several videos of the individual speaking with deputy chief minister Shahelmey Yahya, Kemabong assemblyman Rubin Balang and Tempasuk assemblyman Arsad Bistari.
Sabah chief minister Hajiji Noor has maintained that he had nothing to hide and said his state government would cooperate with MACC regarding the matter.
He also claimed that the release of the videos was seemingly aimed at destabilising his government.
No comments:
Post a Comment