THE MALAYSIAN Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has confirmed that it will summon a former prime minister and his aides regarding the use of government funds amounting to RM700 million while he was in office.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said action will be taken to haul them up for questioning this week or next at the latest.
He said the move will be aimed at finding out how the money was spent for purposes of promotion and publicity of the government’s achievements in the period between 2020 and 2022.
“On how many of them will be called (for questioning), let MACC do it,” he told reporters.
“For now, I think only a former national leader will be called and a few people (who were) around him,” he said when met at a ceremony to officially open the 2024 National Good Governance Symposium at the Sama-Sama Hotel, Sepang.
The event was officiated by current Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Commenting further, Azam said that the most important thing is to understand how the money or government funds were spent and who were the companies that received them.
He also explained that it is MACC’s responsibility to perform investigations when an issue arises that demands a proper probe to be done.
Quoting a source, Bernama had reported on January 2 that the MACC went to the Finance Ministry (MOF) and Prime Minister’s Department (JPM) that day to start investigations and to gather information as well as documents related to the allegations.
The source said that the investigations were based on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s response to a question from Batu MP P. Prabakaran, who was seeking an explanation on how much was spent by the government for promotional activities since 2020.
“The expenditure included promotional and publicity initiatives carried out to promote the achievements of the government through all media platforms including print, digital media and television from 2020 to 2022,” said the source.
The source added that the initial investigation was to determine how the money was spent and to determine whether the proper procedures were followed.
Following Anwar’s response in the Dewan Rakyat, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil posted on social media platform X that the public has the right to know how the RM700 million was spent. – The Vibes, January 8, 2024
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