The Malaysian Insight

PRIME Minister Najib Razak has never instructed the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to take action against anyone, says its chief, Dzulkifli Ahmad. 

The head of the country’s anti-graft agency said he has never faced any political pressure while carrying out his duty since taking office last year. 

“Since August 1, 2016, until today, December 4, 2017, the prime minister has never given any instruction to take action or not to take action against anyone, ever,” he said at a dialogue with university students in Kuala Lumpur today. 

He said Najib’s administration also allowed the anti-graft agency to act independently, giving it total freedom to investigate or take action against any party.

“It is not true that the MACC is being controlled by the country’s leaders. Najib’s administration has never given (it) any instructions. 

“This is the reality,” he said when asked by a participant about political pressure from politicians in combating corruption.

In recent years, the MACC has been accused of being selective in its dragnet, with certain quarters criticising the agency for not going after high-level graft cases. 

The opposition had slammed the MACC for not investigating 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).

Last month, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Paul Low said that the MACC had not investigated 1MDB because other authorities, such as Bank Negara Malaysia, the police and the Public Accounts Committee, had done so. 

While the MACC did not probe 1MDB itself, it had investigated the RM2.6 billion that Najib had called a donation from Saudi Arabia. It had also investigated SRC International, one of the companies through which portions of the same money had allegedly flown through from 1MDB before reaching Najib’s personal bank accounts.

“So far, no minister has ever called to pressure me or ask for a favour, not even a minister,” Dzulkifli said.

“I think they are afraid to call me,” he said, adding that all actions taken by the agency are free from political pressure. 

On the investigation against former rural and regional development minister Shafie Apdal, Dzulkifli said MACC would only open an investigation paper after assessing the case to see if there was sound basis to the report lodged. 

“Why is action being taken now? You have to ask the previous MACC leadership as to why no action was taken previously.

“The issue here is not when we take action, it is whether there was corruption at that point in time.

“It doesn’t matter if it was last year or this year, we will still take action, but if there is no corruption, we will not take any action,” he said in reference to action taken against Shafie. 

The MACC is investigating some 350 rural projects involving water and electricity supply, as well as road projects, given by the ministry to 60 companies between 2009 and 2015 in Sabah. 

Some RM1.5 billion in federal funds are believed to have been misappropriated from a RM7.5 billion allocation for Sabah. 

Shafie had headed the ministry at the time until he was dropped from the cabinet line-up in July 2015. He was among the first cabinet members appointed by Najib in April 2009. 

Last month, Shafie was called up by the MACC over his recommendation for a company trying to land a RM43 million maintenance project from a university in Sabah. – December 4, 2017.