MACC nabs three Shah Alam City Council officers allegedly linked to Sungai Buloh protection racket

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 11 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has arrested three Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) officers for suspected graft involving a protection racket for unlicensed businesses in the Sungai Buloh district.

The three, aged 41 to 49, were detained for allegedly soliciting and accepting monthly bribes from unlicensed business owners, a  source from the commission said.

Two of the suspects are officers from the Sungai Buloh branch and the other from MBSA. All three are currently held at the MACC’s main headquarters in Putrajaya.

Another suspect believed to be from Aceh was also detained in the operation conducted this morning. The man, a petty trader alleged to have sold illicit cigarettes, is said to have paid monthly bribes worth RM300 to avoid the authorities since 2019.

The three officers were alleged to have received bribes of between RM300 and RM3,500 from a single premises, a source from the MACC said.

The arrests were made following public uproar over a clip that purportedly showed the act of bribing taking place, the same source added.

The case is being investigated under Section 17(a) of the MACC Act 2009. The detainees are expected to be remanded under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code.

“The arrests were made following the viral video clip shared on social media,” the commission said in a statement issued this afternoon.

“(The clip) alleged the authorities had failed to monitor and enforce the law as well as accusations of taking bribes from unlicensed business premises conducting the sale of contraband including cigarettes around Sungai Buloh,” the statement added.

Deputy Commissioner (operations) Datuk Seri Ahmad Khusairi Yahaya confirmed the arrests.

The authorities are not discounting the possibility that the three officers were part of a syndicate that offered protection for illegal traders.

“Any parties with information about suspected corruption among enforcement agents are urged to come forward and assist,” the MACC statement said.

“Their identities or information about the whistleblowers will be fully protected.”

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