KOTA KINABALU – The Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC) has been urged to expedite the prosecution of three senior Majlis Amanah Rakyat Corporation Sdn Bhd (Mara Corp) officers for alleged abuse of power and management impropriety.
Papar MP Ahmad Hassan said the alleged offences are serious as they purportedly involve a government-linked agency that handles public funds.
No charges have been brought against the three senior officers yet although the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) handed the full investigation report to the AGC last April.
“Why is this happening? Why are there no prosecutions until today and why is it taking so long since the report was handed to the AGC last April?” said the Warisan lawmaker.
“This case should not be set aside as it involved a Bumiputera interest and public funds. What is more baffling is that not one of the accused officers has been penalised by Mara Corp,” he said in a statement today.
Yesterday, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had said that investigators had completed their probe into the case and proposed that several parties be charged based on their findings.
He denied knowledge of any move by the AGC to drop the charges framed against the officers.
A report by Malay-language portal Malaysia Gazette had cited a source as ascribing potential lack of evidence as a probable reason behind the move.
On February 5, the MACC confirmed receiving a report on alleged integrity issues involving several senior Mara officials, who were being investigated internally by the agency before the MACC raided Mara, the Mara Corp headquarters as well as a corporate secretarial company, and seized several documents on February 7.
Over 30 witnesses have been called in to facilitate the probe involving the three senior Mara Corp officers, which was wrapped up by the MACC in February.
The report was then handed to the AGC in April, but rumours have been swirling that it is planning to drop all charges against the accused.
Ahmad said the government should be more transparent and uphold its integrity, and should be impartial in handling such matters, adding that it should not defend officers alleged to be corrupt.
“It is situations like this becoming the reason why many investors refused to come to Malaysia,” he said. – The Vibes, June 15, 2022
