The MACC insisted that it had attempted to contact a former aide to ex-economy minister Rafizi Ramli before issuing a notice declaring him a wanted person.
Disputing James Chai's assertion that the graft busters had failed to get in touch with him before releasing the notice to the public, the agency said its investigating officers (IO) had attempted to reach Chai various times.
The commission claimed its officers had begun contacting the WhatsApp number belonging to Chai on Feb 24 but received no response.
MACC asserted that Chai, who was detected to be in the United Kingdom, had on Feb 26 blocked the IO's number.
"Therefore, the claim that the MACC did not attempt to contact him (Chai) before issuing the notice is entirely untrue," MACC said in a statement today.
"It is (Chai’s) duty and responsibility as a citizen to cooperate with the authorities when the need arises, and not to give unreasonable excuses or create negative perceptions towards enforcement agencies."
Malaysiakini has contacted Chai for a response. At the time of writing, it is 3am in the UK.
Rafizi said he will respond to the MACC's hunt for Chai later today, while describing it as political vengeance by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
Yesterday, the MACC issued a notice seeking Chai out to facilitate investigations into allegations linked to Rafizi, who is accused of expediting an RM1.1 billion government deal with British semiconductor giant Arm Holdings.
In a press conference later, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said Chai is being sought as a wanted person, not a witness, the New Straits Times reported.
Responding to the matter, Chai then issued a lengthy press statement criticising the MACC and explaining several matters related to the deal.
In his statement, Chai claimed that the MACC had not contacted him before issuing the notice seeking his cooperation.
"They (MACC) even put up my childhood home, which my parents stay in, exposing my family to unnecessary danger, which is something I will never forgive the authorities for.
"The government has ample resources at their disposal, but they couldn’t even find my WhatsApp number. They could have asked my friends or my former colleagues in government.
"But, resorting to this elaborate public search method is meant to paint me as a fugitive with something to hide, as if I am guilty and running from the authorities. This is excessive and potentially defamatory – I presume this is meant to be so," he added.
‘Not a criminal charge’
In its statement today, the MACC stressed that a Notice to Trace is not a criminal charge and does not carry any conclusion that the individual concerned has committed an offence.
It added that as part of its probes involving Rafizi, a total of 12 individuals, including a federal minister, have been called and all have cooperated with the MACC.
"If (Chai) has nothing to hide, he should come forward to cooperate," the MACC argued.
It also cautioned that attempts to portray routine investigation procedures as acts of persecution against an individual are "inappropriate and malicious".
Such narratives, it said, not only mislead the public but also have the potential to undermine public confidence in lawful enforcement processes, particularly while investigations are still ongoing.
"The MACC stresses that the commission always adheres to the 'presumption of innocence' principle, meaning a person is not guilty until proven otherwise.
"Therefore, being called to assist in an investigation does not mean that the person is guilty or has committed an offence," it affirmed.
Assuring that its investigation process will continue in a professional and evidence-based manner, it highlighted that any individual called to assist in probes should provide full cooperation to the authorities, "rather than evade (MACC) or deliberately create misleading public narratives".
It added that claims asserting that Azam's press conference yesterday was held solely to target Chai are "untrue and baseless".
This, it said, is because the event had also touched on several other ongoing investigations. - Mkini
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