Private eye Bala's reply handed to MACC

Private investigator P Balasubramaniam's reply to a list of questions to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has been submitted today, in the form of a statutory declaration.

Americk Singh Sidhu (far left), who arrived at the commission's headquarters in Putrajaya this afternoon, said they will also be consulting the MACC on whether the information can be divulged to the public.

This was necessary as the questions, that were sent to Balasubramaniam in London two weeks ago, were marked as secrets.

"As you can see, it (answers) has been all notarised in London by a notary public, but let's see what happens first," he said, showing a thick volume of documents.

'Pleasantly surprised' by cooperation

After the meeting, Americk said they were “pleasantly surprised” by the MACC's cooperation in the case.

He said the investigating officers, led by Abdul Rahman Bachok, had given an assurance that the commission is working towards completing their investigations as soon as possible.

“We had a very pleasant meeting inside, we gave them all the documents and they acknowledged receipt, and they seem quite keen to ensure that the investigations are completed as fast as possible.

“All of us were quite pleasantly surprised with the cooperation that appears to be forthcoming from the MACC, so let's hope something is done,” said Americk.

The SD contained answers to a total of 52 questions from the MACC, plus additional information on the various alleged payments made to Bala.

Americk however did not specify what alleged payments his client was referring to.

He said it took Bala three days in London to finish answering all 52 questions.

“We were told that they were done with the other witnesses and Bala (left) was the last witness... So hopefully something will come out of it now.”

Americk noted however that while there is no obvious restriction to release Bala's answers publicly, they see no reason to reveal the contents of his SD “at this moment”.

“I think it is best to let the MACC conclude the investigations.”

He said they do not expect to be recalled, though he did not discount the possibility that the MACC may want to seek further clarification after going through Bala's answers.

Answers 'not intended to be admissible'

Americk stressed that Bala's latest SD is not intended to be admissible in court, but to help in the commission's investigations.

He added that they will not jump the gun by assuming that this case will be taken to court.

“We are assuming too much at the moment. First of all they have to make a decision, whether or not there will be a prosecution.

“And if so, who to prosecute? Unless we get to that stage first, it is a secondary issue, who they call as witnesses,” said Americk.

When asked if Bala would come back to Malaysia, Americk said he is more than willing, provided his safety is guaranteed.

“Basically his family and he are protected, so that he doesn't receive future threats,” he said when asked to elaborate.

“That's understandable. He's very apprehensive about being here at the moment and that's why he's in India.”

courtesy of Malaysiakini