Advertisement

You should have been candid when MACC image hit after 2020 audio leaks, MP tells ex-CJ Raus Sharif

Malay Mail
Malay Mail

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 — Tun Mohamed Raus Sharif should have been more forthright about the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) when its reputation took a beating following leaked audio recordings allegedly involving a senior official over the 1MDB financial scandal, DAP lawmaker Ramkarpal Singh said today.

The Bukit Gelugor MP criticised the former chief justice for the latter's remarks yesterday suggesting that the MACC's reputation was better before private lawyer Latheefa Koya was appointed its chief commissioner when the Pakatan Harapan coalition held federal power.

'As a former chief justice, Raus ought to have been candid about the image of the MACC which took a beating when leaked audio recordings of a former prime minister and a would-be MACC official in 2016 were made public by former MACC chief Latheefa Koya in 2020 in the presence of current MACC chief Azam Baki.

'Whether or not the said recordings are true, they are certainly damning and ought to have been addressed by Raus, particularly when Azam himself was at the press conference where the recordings were exposed,' Ramkarpal said in a statement of the leaked audio recording surrounding 1MDB and its former subsidiary SRC International Sdn Bhd.

The DAP politician said he was sorely disappointed that Raus failed to address Azam's recent share trading controversy at the anti-corruption forum held yesterday.

Ramkarpal pointed out that the share trading incident drew much public criticism towards the MACC, which he claimed resulted in a serious loss of public confidence.

'Raus’ failure to do so and instead, pin the blame of the rot in the image of the MACC on the appointment of a political appointee in the last four years, who I assume to be Latheefa during the reign of Pakatan Harapan, suggests his utter ignorance of public perception of the MACC today, a clear sign of a man detached from reality,' he added.