I was behind MACC complaint, reveals Bahri's sister-in-law

Former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) special operations division director Bahri Mohd Zin has nothing to do with the inheritance tussle in his wife Noor Haslina Abdullah's family.

His youngest sister-in law, Nor Maiza Abdullah, said this as she clarified that she was the one who lodged the report that resulted in the MACC raid on the home of her sister-in-law, Noraihan Che Ali.

"I am the one who lodged the MACC report in Kelantan. Not Noor Haslina," Nor Maiza said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Noraihan was married to the late Muhamad Zamly Abdullah, the elder brother of Bahri's wife, Noor Haslina.

On Jan 20 this year, Noraihan claimed that Bahri had abused him powers and instructed a team from his division to raid her house in January last year, when he was still the special operations division director at MACC.

Noraihan, the director of Kolej Islam Sains dan Teknologi (Kist), which was previously owned by her late husband, had claimed that documents related to her college and other businesses were confiscated.

Muhamad Zamly passed away in September 2015, leaving behind assets worth RM100 million and debts amounting to RM85 million, according to Noraihan (on right in photo).

Following this, she claimed a dispute erupted between his siblings, Noraihan and the couple's nine-year-old son.

Her allegations against Bahri (left in photo above) came several weeks after the former MACC top gun confirmed that he opted for early retirement due to frustration over the SRC International Sdn Bhd case.

"There was too much money lost. l should not serve in spider web laws,” Bahri had said then.

He retired from the MACC in December last year, two years ahead of his official retirement age of 60.

SRC, which was previously a subsidiary of troubled state fund 1MDB, came under the spotlight after RM42 million of its money was found in Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal bank account.

Najib has claimed to be unaware about the money from SRC and attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali had also cleared him of any wrongdoing in the matter.

Bahri had later lodged a police report against Noraihan after she made her allegations, accusing her of making a false report against him.

In his report sighted by Malaysiakini, the investigation on Noraihan was based on a report lodged in Kelantan over an alleged forged signature of Zamly with regard to properties amounting to RM4 million.

Now, Nor Maiza, Zamly's youngest sister and the executor of his will, has claimed that she was the one who made the report on the alleged forged signature.

"Bahri did not interfere at all. I'm the one who made the report and I'm also the one whose statement was taken (by the MACC)," she said.

She explained that a month after her brother's death, she had checked on a landed property in Kelantan, which Zamly owned and the name on the grant was still that of her brother.

However, a few weeks later, when she went back to check on it again, the land had been sold to someone else.

Forged signature on documents

When she followed that up with a check at the land office, she realised that the signature on the documents were forged.

Around the same time, Nor Maiza said, she also discovered that a similar thing had happened to six houses her brother owned in Kuantan, where they were sold with alleged forged signatures after Zamly's death.

"I was advised to lodge a police report because these were forged signatures and the properties sold after his death.

"Actually, a property cannot be sold after the owner passes away (and before the execution of his will).

"It should be (Zamly's) signature, but it was different from the one he usually signs. I know because I've worked with him since he started the college," Nor Maiza said.

In addition to the police report, she also lodged an MACC report because the land in Kelantan was worth close to RM2 million, but had been sold for RM100,000, she claimed.

She was also later called to give her statement to MACC, she said.

Nor Maiza added that it was not just Noraihan's house which was raided by the MACC, as their investigations had also led them to the Bachok land office, where the signature on the land documents was signed, as well as the Kist campus in Bachok.

She had also lodged a police report, she said, and gave a statement to the police regarding this matter.

In her reports, she said she never accused Noraihan of being involved in the sale of the properties and that she merely lodged the reports due to her suspicion of the alleged forged signatures.

However, she revealed that she has lodged a new police report, after she discovered yesterday that Kist Group Holdings Sdn Bhd had been declared bankrupt by court order.

She then checked with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM), where she discovered that the listed directors of Kist Group Holdings were Noraihan and one Muhammad Firdaus Che Ali.

"It is not known for now when Firdaus replaced Zamly (as director of the company) and through what documents," she said in her police report, also lodged yesterday.

Further checks, Nor Maiza said, also showed that Noraihan was declared bankrupt by a court order dated Dec 20, 2016.

"This report was lodged to ask the authorities to do the necessary investigations in Noraihan's involvement in the abuse of the property and assets of the company as well as the deceased, despite the fact that the power of attorney has not been obtained by any legitimate heir," her report said.

The family's newly-appointed counsel, Mohd Hilmi Sarbini (picture, above right) added that he had advised Nor Maiza to withdraw her previous application for a probate order with regard to the execution of Zamly's will, in light of the new information regarding the sale of the deceased's properties.

Nor Maiza will file a fresh probate application once they have collated all information on Zamly's estate, she said.

Zamly's other siblings also attended the press conference, except for Noor Haslina and her husband Bahri, because the couple intend to file a defamation suit against Noraihan, explained Mohd Hilmi.

On Feb 16, Bahri and Noor Haslina sent a notice of demand to Noraihan to retract her statements against them or risk facing a defamation suit.

The notice, sent by the firm of Haniff Khatri, gave Noraihan 10 days to retract and apologise for her allegations at her January press conference, which Bahri and Noor Haslina claimed were slanderous and defamatory.

In the notice, Bahri and his wife Noor Haslina claimed the statements by Noraihan were wrong in law and had affected their reputation.- Mkini