A big mistake to charge Maria Chin

Since replacing Abdul Gani Patail, all eyes are now on the newly-minted attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali to see if he would uphold justice and exercise wisdom in his new office.

Within less than a week, Apandi’s first notable move was to render ineffective an on-going probe into the 1MDB scandal, and for a while, everything was quiet.

The subsequent blatant denial had only come forth after the Conference of Malay Rulers issued a decree that investigation into 1MDB should be expedited, with the culprits being punished accordingly.

Apandi may claim that the probe team comprising the police, Bank Negara and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) was still in force, but for the sceptical Malaysian public, this was hardly convincing, coming from a senior official and a former Federal Court judge of the Malaysian judiciary system.

This was amid a slew of actions widely seen to be disruptive of MACC’s investigation into SRC International which has since set tongues wagging on why two MACC senior officers were suddenly being transferred to the Prime Minister’s Department, the Public Accounts Committee being dissolved when the probe into 1MDB was doing fine, and Gani being dropped unceremoniously.

No coincidence

Yesterday, Apandi raised another eyebrow when another investigating officer from the MACC, DPP Ahmad Shazalee Abdul Khairi was said to be transferred to the Attorney-General’s Chambers. This was no coincidence, and Apandi cannot plead ignorance over the sudden transfer especially since Ahmad Shazalee is the MACC officer investigating SRC International.

Now that it is out in the open, Apandi (photo) cannot claim that ignorance is bliss. He has to review his decision amidst public pressure, as the move is being widely criticised as being an attempt to derail yet another effort to investigate the subsidiary of the troubled 1MDB.

Although the royal decree had not mentioned about SRC International Sdn Bhd, it being one of the subsidiaries of 1MDB, the sudden transfer of Ahmad Shazalee to the AG’s Chambers is clearly a defiance of the royal decree.

Ahmad Shazalee was the MACC prosecutor involved in the investigations of the SRC International Sdn Bhd which is linked to the amount of RM42 million being deposited into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal account. This was the other amount that had been funneled into Najib’s account, besides the controversial ‘donation’ of RM2.6 billion.

Apandi’s explanation that he could not pinpoint which officer was being transferred to his office despite signing a letter less than two weeks ago, simply defies logic. In fact, Malaysiakini has pointed out that Ahmad Shazalee’s name was not on the AG’s Chambers’ list of transfers involving its officers.

On Aug 1, the MACC senior officer was also previously being arrested by the police and his home and office raided.

A bone to pick

This has led even former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad with a bone to pick with Apandi. Instead of Najib, Dr Mahathir complained that both Umno Batu Kawan vice-head Khairuddin Abu Hassan and Mahathir’s former political secretary, Matthias Chang have been charged with sabotaging the financial system.

All that the duo had done to deserve the treatment was to lodge official reports with the investigating authorities in a number of countries regarding the 1MDB.

In what appears to be his most hard-hitting attack on the Apandi ever since Apandi came into office, Dr Mahathir wrote point-blank in his blog: “Since it was Najib who created 1MDB, borrowed RM42 billion and invested the money and lost it, Najib should also be charged with sabotage.”

In short, Apandi’s malfeasance can no longer be tolerated even by the nonagenarian. Apandi appears to be doing things that appear to run contrary to the purpose of his office - which is to be ‘efficient, fair and just.’

For example, Malay Armed Forces Veterans Association President Mohd Ali Baharom or ‘Ali Tinju’ was caught on a video clip which has since gone viral making an allegedly highly emotional and seditious speech, but he was let off without being charged.

The same could be said of former Malacca chief minister Ali Rustam and Sungai Besar Umno division chief Jamal Mohd Yunos, whose speeches were allegedly equally seditious. None of them have been charged.

No reason for Maria to be charged

Therefore, the biggest disappointment to date is when Bersih 2.0 steering committee chairperson Maria Chin Abdullah is being charged under the Peaceful Assembly Act (PAA).

Maria was urging Najib’s resignation, a demand that reflected well those who attended the Bersih 4 rally recently. The demand for Najib’s resignation was not only Maria’s demand, but some 500,000 Bersih people also wanted Najib to bow out gracefully.

It is clear that under Najib’s administration, the Government Transformation Programme (GTP) has failed to bring about positive changes within the existing system when an AG has overwhelming prosecutorial powers.

Maria, who represents every right-thinking Malaysian, is now being charged under the PAA for failing to give a 10-day notice to the police which of course, we all know is untrue. Some half a million people who turned up on Aug 29 and 30 are solidly behind Chin, even as she attends court this morning.

What baffles most of us is that despite no major incidents recorded during the Bersih 4 event, yet Maria is being charged under the PAA. It is ironic that when an assembly was peaceful, its leader was hauled up by the long arm of the law, whereas the two main leaders of the red shirt movement, Ali Rustam and Jamal Mohd Yunos, were left untouched.

As pointed out by Kulai MP Teo Nie Ching, “It is obvious that if any legal action needs to be taken, it should be taken against the organiser of the red shirts rally, and not the committee of Bersih 4.”

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STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008. -Mkini