MACC chickens out on London meeting with Bala

As expected, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has chickened out of plans to meet private investigator P Balasubramaniam in London next week.

“This doesn’t speak well about their ability to be fearless or even serious crime-fighters. It also underscores the walls of conspiracy in the whole Altantuya murder-Scorpene submarines scandal,” PKR strategic director Tian Chua told Malaysia Chronicle.

“There is no need to ask who they are trying to protect, it is obviously our Prime Minister Najib Razak. But if they are trying to save him embarrassment, this is the worst way because it only incriminates him even more.”

Bad advice from the Attorney-General

According to a report from online news portal Malaysiakini, MACC deputy chief of operations Mohd Shukri Abdull said his commission had decided to cancel the interview due to 'legal considerations'.

Instead of meeting face-to-face, Shukri said the Attorney-General had ordered the MACC to submit questions to Bala's lawyer and request that the answers were returned in an affidavit form. "We will submit the questions to the witness' lawyer tomorrow," he said.

However, Shukri was unconvincing and even admitted that a past case inolving tycoon Eric Chua was not allowed as evidence by the courts. MACC Legal and Prosecution Director Abdul Razak Musa said even if Bala's lawyers sent them the affidavit, the document may not hold much weight unless Balasubramaniam himself agreed to testify in court.

"This begs the question why then does our AG Gani Patail give such advise. If they know the affidavit won't hold water, then why use this route when a nice cosy meeting has already been arranged in London, where it is very beautiful in summer," PKR Youth chief Shamsul Iskandar Akin told Malaysia Chronicle.

"I think the time has come when not just Najib, but Gani Patail should also questioned by the rakyat for giving lousy advise. He should be grilled for not taking steps to protect taxpayers and the country's good name.His performance should be rated and his KPI noted."

Death Squad

Three MACC officers were due to meet Bala and his lawyer at the Holiday Villa in London on Monday and Tuesday. This is not the first time that the MACC has drawn fire for its snail’s-pace work on the Altantuya-Scorpenes scandal.

Since Bala re-surfaced late last year to reveal that he fled the country after implicating Najib and his wife Rosmah Mansor in a statutory declaration in 2008, the MACC has been under pressure to explain why it did not accept Bala’s offer to help in investigations.

Bala had invited the MACC to record his statement. His only conditions were that it be in a safe country like the United Kingdom but not Singapore, and that his lawyers were present.

But from the choice of countries to the type and location of the venues and even the number of lawyers whom Bala could bring along for the interview, the graft-buster has stonewalled.

The MACC's sudden acquiescence late last week sparked a rash of red-hot and bizarre speculation. Commentators on the Internet began punting that Najib would send a hit-squad to finish off Bala, who is believed to hold in the palm of his hand information so momentous it could topple the BN government and even put the PM and his wife behind bars.

"My sixth sense told me that these MACC officers are not sent to London to interview Bala but could be on a mission to silence Bala and his lawyers in London. These are the so-called "Death Squad". They are prepared for any eventuality, even to the extent of spending time in the London jail. The stakes are much too high for Najib to ignore!”

This was just one such comment that Malaysia Chronicle highlighted on Tuesday. It reflects the sad depth of mistrust that Malaysian citizens on the whole feel for their top leader.

courtesy of Malaysia Chronicle