Those who have any evidence of criminal wrongdoing by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail must be responsible enough to lodge police reports and stand by the allegations made, says one of his predecessors.
Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman (pic, left) said it was pointless congregating at someone's house and badmouthing the individual without pursuing further action.
"We are talking about a person who is holding an influential and powerful public office.
He said investigations could only be started if there were police reports. Abu Talib said this in response to reports that several people had met former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad at his residence in Seri Kembangan last August to discuss the top lawyer's alleged misdeeds.
News portal Malaysiakini had reported that former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim and prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah met the former prime minister then.
Present at the meeting were Dr Mahathir's former political secretary Matthias Chang and former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusoff, who had apparently briefed the former premier over his run-ins with Gani.
Their discussion also touched on other alleged wrongdoings by the AG, including fabrication of evidence in the famous "black eye" case of 1998 involving former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
It all started when Mat Zain received a surprise phone call from Shafee to meet him at the lawyer's office-cum-residence in Bukit Tunku on August 10.
On another occasion, Dr Mahathir is also said to have pressured Gani and called Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for a discussion.
During the meeting, Dr Mahathir claimed that the Attorney General's Chambers employed two CIA agents. Ahmad Zahid is said to have agreed to probe the claim.
These moves are seen as posing a threat to the position of Gani who has been AG since 2002.
Abu Talib said should there be police reports, then a full investigation must be conducted.
"Just like any other case involving public servants, the probe must be independent, fair and transparent," he said.
Abu Talib, who was AG for 13 years from 1980, said the question of conflict of interest did not arise because investigations papers on Gani could be handled by the Solicitor-General.
"The law clearly states that in the absence of the AG, the Solicitor-General exercises all powers and performs the functions," he said.
Abu Talib said all procedures must be followed as the country was governed by the rule of law.
Lawyers for Liberty, however, took a stronger stand against Gani. Its co-founder and adviser Eric Paulsen said if there was a question mark over the ability of the AG, the prime minister could ask him to resign.
"If there was any wrongdoing by Gani, the prime minister can advise the king to set up a tribunal to try the AG," he added.
However, in reality, he said, the public was in a no-win situation because the state institutions like the police, the AG's Chambers and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission were not free from political interference.
Paulsen said police reports, if any, made against Gani would come to nothing.
Therefore, he said to ask Mat Zain or any other person to go through the proper procedure would likely come to a dead end.
Gani, 58, joined the AG's Chambers in 1980 and was appointed AG in 2002.
The Sabahan had come under heavy criticism from the opposition and non-governmental organisations over his handling of several high profile cases, including the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder and the acquittal of Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik in a cheating trial in the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) case.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.