Something fishy about the 'Datuk' nabbed for trying to bribe NFC investigators, says PKR

From snails-pace to faster-than-the-speed-of-light, Malaysian police suddenly nabbed a man who allegedly tried to bribe senior officers investigating a high-profile commercial crime, believed to be linked to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) debacle.

The police obtained a remand order from the magistrates court on Thursday for the 45-year-old man, allegedly a Datuk who heads a consultancy firm and runs a taxi company.

“I am not denying, I am not confirming. I’m saying I have no comments,” CCID chief Syed Ismail Syed Azizan told a press conference at the CCID office.

Making a scapegoat

The news which was broken by the government-controlled media immediately aroused suspicion due to several factors.

Firstly, pundits pointed out it followed hot on the heels of an announcement by the Malaysian Anti Corruption Commission (MACC) that it had set up a special team to probe the RM250 million NFC scandal involving the family of Umno minister Shahrizat Jalil.

Then, why the link to the NFC scandal if the CCID chief refused to even confirm if the suspect had anything to do with the case. Why bring it up then, asked PKR's Rafizi Ramli, one of the prime whistle blowers of alleged corruption in the badly-managed national cattle livestock project.

"We suspect a scapegoat, a decoy to deflect attention from Najib and the central issue at stake - which is persistent and endemic corruption by the Umno elite," Rafizi, who is also the PKR strategy director, told Malaysia Chronicle.

"It is also to assure the public that the MACC and the police are working on it. But does this mean there will be real changes in Malaysia. Would anyone dare to probe Najib over the Altantuya murder or Scorpenes submarines kickback case? Would anyone dare to question (former premier) Mahathir Mohamd about his sons, his cronies and his mega deals?"

'You already know his name'

eanwhile, Syed Ismail said police detained the man upon receiving information that he had allegedly attempted to bribe three or four senior police officers involved in the commercial crimes probe.

“I think even if I don’t give you his name, you already know what it is. You already know his name so you can see if his ‘bin’ has anything to do with them,” he said.

The suspect was previously wanted for questioning in relation to a cheating case reported three weeks ago in Cheras as well as another case in Bercham, Ipoh last year. He was handed over to the MACC today for further action.

Syed Ismail also said the police have so far recorded statements from about 27 individuals, including officers from the finance and agriculture ministries, in relation to the NFC.

Meanwhile, in  a separate statement, MACC investigations director Mustafar Ali  had said a special team had been formed to probe the matter. His announcement was seen as a warning to Shahrizat to be a good Umno trooper - accept the blame and resign from the Cabinet.

"We have acted accordingly by collecting evidence and statements since the issue was reported in the Auditor-General's Report. A large part of the issues brought up in the latest complaint (against NFC) had already been acted upon,” the MACC had said in its statement.

Malaysia Chronicle