PETALING JAYA (Jan 9): Prominent lawyer Haniff Khatri Abdulla (pictured) has said that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Latheefa Koya should have asked her officers to lodge a police report and handed over the recordings to the police instead of publicising them.
According to a Free Malaysia Today report, he also said that “if the recordings had hinted at any criminal activity, they should be probed under the Penal Code and not the MACC Act”.
Haniff explained that evidence cannot be made public as this could impact the probe and “leave a negative impression on the public, especially in view of the fact that an investigation had yet to be carried out”.
The MACC yesterday played several sets of audio recordings to the media conversations involving former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and others which Latheefa described as leakage of information from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Latheefa said the audio clips pertained to conversations also involving Najib's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, former MACC chief Tan Sri Dzulkifli Ahmad, a foreign dignitary and several other individuals.
“Sadly, Latheefa and the MACC had contravened the rule of law by releasing the audio recording. This should not be done by any enforcement agency.
“Any crime or wrongdoing cannot be punished by going against the ‘rule of law’ principle,” Haniff added.
According to the FMT report, Haniff “also wondered if the release of the clips would favour the prosecution or Najib”.