It’s not our area, up to MACC to investigate Attorney-General’s alleged misconduct, says IGP

Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar (pic) said it is not for the police to act on the allegations of misconduct by Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail.

He said the allegations had to do with the misuse of power so it would be up to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to initiate a probe.

"This is not for the police to handle. You should ask the MACC," he said today before delivering a lecture on Futuristic Policing at Universiti Sains Malaysia in Penang.

Khalid said the claims against Gani had to do with several cases that had been settled long ago, including the murder of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu.

"They have been repeated over and over again. What more do they want?

"There must be a limit to everything. You cannot politicise everything and confuse the people," he said.

It was reported last week that former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigation Department (CID) director Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim and prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah met former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in August to discuss Gani's alleged wrongdoings.

Also at the meeting, which was at Dr Mahathir's residence, were his former political secretary Matthias Chang and former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Datuk Ramli Yusoff.

Ramli was said to have briefed Dr Mahathir about his run-ins with Gani. The meeting also touched on alleged wrongdoings by Gani, such as the fabrication of evidence in the famous "black eye" case involving former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

On claims that Gani hired two American agents in his office and if the police was looking into it, Khalid said "he did not know about it".

Khalid said that was for Gani to answer.

On a separate matter, Khalid denied that police had done nothing about reports alleging that plantation and logging firms in Melikin and Serian in Sarawak had hired gangsters to threaten native landowners.

He confirmed that there were fights and said two people had been detained in relation to the incidents.

"We have investigated the matter and there is no gangsterism involved. But we will still watch them closely.

Sarawak Land Development Minister Tan Sri Dr James Masing had earlier told The Malaysian Insider that the threats against the native customary rights (NCR) landowners in Melikin, Serian, had prompted him to submit a "detailed account" to Bukit Aman and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to enable them to investigate further.

Masing had claimed that there was non-action on the part of the police and it was worrying him.

The NCR landowners have claimed that two companies operating there have encroached on their land and the thugs silenced their protests.

Online news portal Sarawak Report had reported recently of “political interference” leading to the police inaction.

The portal claimed it could “reveal” how four gangster leaders, who were arrested “after the discovery of an enormous illegal arms cache at the disputed logging and plantation concessions at Melikin”, were freed “on instructions from ministers”.

Sarawak Report claimed the two companies - United Teamtrade Sdn Bhd and Memaju Jaya Sdn Bhd - had been granted controversial licences on NCR lands in the area.

The portal also claimed that the companies have strong ties to “powerful Barisan Nasional political figures in Sarawak”.