Apandi Ali is tying up the government in knots over the MACC investigation into SRC Interntional
The new Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamad Apandi Ali is tying up the government in knots with his first interview with The Malaysian Insider.
Apandi Ali disclosed in the first part of his interview on Wednesday that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) had taken statements from SRC International managing director Nik Faisal Kamil and director Datuk Suboh Md Yassin.
Although Apandi did not mention when MACC had taken statements from Nik Faisal and Suboh, this had proven to be a double surprise.
Firstly, Nik Faisal and Suboh had been “fugitives from justice” and escaped the arms of the law for four months, as they had been on the “wanted list” during this period in connection with the multi-agency Special Task Force and MACC investigations into the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals, following Wall Street Journal report of July 2 on RM2.6 billion deposited into the Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s personal banking accounts.
Nik Faisal and Suboh are being sought by the authorities to assist in the ongoing probe into RM42 million channelled into Najib’s bank accounts.
RC International was a subsidiary of 1MDB until it was placed under the Finance Ministry in February 2012.
Members of Parliament and the nation were shocked when Najib as Prime Minister-cum-Finance Minister replied to the DAP MP for Kulai, Teo Nie Ching, in a written answer on Oct. 21 on behalf of these two “fugitives from justice” and said that based on information provided by SRC International, Nik Faisal and Suboh “are making preparations to be interviewed by MACC soonest to help in the investigations”.
This has gravely compromised the status and honour of Najib as Prime Minister and Finance Minister as it meant firstly, that he had been party to Nik Faisal and Suboh’s abscondment from the arms of the law for four months; and secondly, that during the whole of four months that the two SRC International officials had absconded overseas to escape interrogation by MACC, both these officers had been on official payroll of the government in the fully-owned government company!
MACC in a statement on August 22, 2015, had asked the SRC duo and businessman Low Taek Jho, better known as Jho Low, to contact it immediately to assist in the investigations connected with SRC International Sdn Bhd.
The MACC also requested that members of the public with any information on the whereabouts of these three persons to contact Assistant Commissioner Rosli Husain or Assistant Commissioner Norkhafizin Isa or the nearest MACC office.
Former police special branch deputy director Datuk Abdul Hamid Bador had in August alleged there were efforts to hide the main witnesses with regard to the SRC International probe. Without divulging names, Hamid said one of the main witnesses previously hid in Indonesia and Thailand, and was then in New Zealand.
A day after Najib’s reply to Nie Ching, MACC in its statement dated October 22, again urged SRC duo to come forward to get their statements recorded.
On Nov. 11, in the first of a three-part interview with The Malaysian Insider, Apandi suddenly revealed that Nik Faisal and Suboh had already given their statements to the MACC, although he did not mention when or where such statements to the MACC were made.
This is the first surprise.
The second surprise is the statement by the MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed yesterday where he said that MACC had contacted the Prime Minister’s Office to secure an appointment with Prime Minister Najib to question him on the RM2.6 billion found in his personal bank accounts.
In the same statement, Abu Kassim said MCC was also probing the allegation that RM42 million flowed from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International into Najib’s accounts, stating that whether the MACC could complete the investigations on SRC International year-end depends on whether it can get hold of the two SRC International directors “who are overseas”.
This has come as a surprise and a shock when two days earlier, the Attorney-General had revealed that the two SRC International directors had already given their statements to the MACC.
Who is not telling the public the truth – the Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali or the MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed?
It is clear that the new Attorney-General is tying up- the government in knots on MACA investigations into SRC International in his first interview with the press and the Malaysian public are entitled to know what is the truth – when and where Nik Faisal and Suboh of SRC International had given their statements to the MACC.
If no clarification is forthcoming on this issue, then it is incumbent on Najib to appear in Parliament on the last day of the three-day Ministerial winding-up of the 2016 budget debate on Monday to give full and satisfactory accounting for the RM2.6 billion “donation” and RM50 billion 1MDB twin mega scandals, or Members of Parliament from both sides of the House would be entitled to reject the passage of Najib’s 2016 Budget solely on the ground of his failure to give proper accounting on the twin mega scandals to Parliament.
Najib should also explain why the two “fugitives from justice” in SRC International are still on public payroll after four months of absconding from the arms of the law.