Thursday 28 Mar 2024
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(June 12): DAP today called out the contradictory statements made by the Home Ministry and police over the probe into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB), demanding that both come clean.

The police had said it still needed time to investigate while the Home Ministry said investigation papers had been completed in March.

DAP lawmaker Tony Pua said Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's reply in Parliament that police investigations papers on 1MDB had been sent to the Attorney-General (A-G) on March 9 was a glaring contradiction to Inspector-General of Police's (IGP) statement on June 4 asking the public to be patient while the probe is being completed.

"The glaring question therefore is, how is it that Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi could inform the Parliament that the police have completed their probe into 1MDB and the investigation papers have been sent to the A-G on March 9 this year when everything the IGP has publicly announced points to the complete?

"Or is this another example of the Home Ministry’s left hand being totally clueless about what the right hand is doing, a state of affair which is becoming the norm rather than the exception in the Najib administration?" Pua said.

The Petaling Jaya Utara MP said Zahid had avoided answering his parliamentary question on June 10 as to whether businessman Low Taek Jho would be investigated based on leaked documents which alleged that 1MDB funds had been siphoned to his account.

Pua said Zahid had completely avoided giving a response on Low, but instead said that police had competed their probe and were waiting for further instructions from the A-G.

Zahid had said that the case was classified under Section 409 of the Penal Code for criminal breach of trust by public servant or agent, and police investigations were carried out based on the report lodged by former Batu Kawan Umno division vice-chairman Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan.

"The investigative papers have been referred to the A-G on March 9 this year for further action," Pua quoted Zahid in his parliamentary reply.

Pua said this was surprising because IGP Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar had, as late as June 4, been pleading for more time and patience from the public.

Before that, Khalid on March 9 – the date police investigating papers had been sent to the A-G, according to Zahid – had announced a new task force to probe 1MDB.

This task force comprises the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the A-G Chambers and police.

On March 22, Khalid was still talking about the task force's intention to go ahead with investigations without waiting for the Auditor-General's probe of 1MDB.

Pua today questioned who was telling the truth about the status of police investigations into 1MDB.

"If the home minister is telling the truth, then we have to ask what is the A-G doing sitting on the investigation papers for the past three months?"

The DAP national publicity secretary also said that he had lodged a police report against various personalities related to 1MDB on March 4, and was disappointed that Zahid made no mention of this report.

1MDB is known to be sitting on a pile of RM42 billion debts, and is the subject of different probes, including by the national auditors and Parliament's Public Accounts Committee. – The Malaysian Insider

 

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