Top MCMC official under probe for graft transferred to Sabah

It is understood that an officer transferred by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission was being investigated for possible misuse of agency assets for personal interest. – U-library/PNM pic, January 30, 2015.

A top official in the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), who is being probed for misuse of agency assets, has been transferred to the regulatory body’s Sabah branch.

It is learnt that the officer will start his duties in Sabah on March 1 while the investigation against him by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) continues.

On January 7, sources told The Malaysian Insider that the MACC had written to the MCMC requesting information on the officer.

The letter did not mention any specific offence but it is understood that the officer was being investigated for possible misuse of agency assets for personal interest.

“The original complaint about the officer to the MACC was on abuse of power,” said a source.

The letter had requested details of the agency’s assets including the registration number of a vehicle belonging to the MCMC, the source said.

The source also did not discount the possibility that the MACC also requested information on MCMC assets which were purchased at high prices but which could not be used.

The MCMC has not denied that the investigation is taking place. It is learnt that the investigation was prompted by a report to the MACC from the MCMC itself.

An MACC source also did not deny that an investigation was being carried out on the officer.

Calls and text messages sent by The Malaysian Insider to the MCMC’s corporate communications department for comment on the matter were not replied.

The MCMC recently appointed Dr Halim Shafie as chairman to replace Datuk Mohamed Sharil Mohamed Tarmizi whose contract ended on December 31 last year and was not extended.

Halim had previously held the post from April 2006 to May 2009.

The appointment of a new MCMC chairman had sparked controversy because Putrajaya was said to have considered Dr Mazlan Ismail for the post.

Mazlan is an Umno politician who had contested against opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in the May 5, 2013, general election.

Sharil had been under pressure, particularly from right-wing groups and some Umno division chiefs over what they see as a reluctance to control Malaysia's digital space, particularly postings on social media critical of the ruling Barisan Nasional and Umno.

- TMI