The government's propaganda arm Special Affairs Department (Jasa) has accused PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim of threatening a witness in the Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) into the forex scandal.
The claim came after Jasa director-general Mohd Puad Zarkashi faced an onslaught for claiming that former Bank Negara adviser Nor Mohamed Yakcop was taking the fall in the forex scandal for former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Jasa advisory panel member Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz zoomed in on Anwar's statement on Aug 23, in which Anwar criticised former Bank Negara assistant governor Abdul Murad Khalid's statement to the RCI about him and demanded that he be summoned by the RCI to provide a response.
"I have read the witness statement of Murad Abdul Khalid, where at paragraph 37 he alleges that on a flight to Hawaii in early 1994, he briefed me on the Bank Negara forex losses and that I had said that if those losses were made public, I would have to resign as finance minister.
"His malicious insinuation is clear – that I had implied a cover-up was needed. That allegation is false. I never said that to him.
"Murad has been personally hostile towards me since 1999, when he published a sworn statutory declaration making false and scurrilous accusations against me. This declaration was investigated by the then Anti-Corruption Agency and found to be completely baseless," Anwar had said in his statement.
Tun Faisal (photo) said the tone of Anwar's statement more closely fitted the definition of an offence under Section 12(2) of the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950.
Section 12(2) of the law states "any person who threatens, insults or injures any person for having given evidence, or on account of the evidence which he has given before the commissioners, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years".
Tun Faisal added in a statement issued late yesterday: "Perhaps (former Umno leader) Khairuddin Abu Hassan does not understand this matter but it is strange for (lawyer) Mohd Haniff Khatri Abdulla not to understand.
"It would be more appropriate if Haniff and Khairuddin first scrutinise Section 12(2) of the Commissions of Enquiry Act 1950 before claiming Puad's statement violated the dignity, sanctity and position of the RCI."
Earlier yesterday, Khairuddin earlier lodged a police report against Puad for his comments about Nor Mohamed.
Puad, in a statement on Sept 7, claimed Nor Mohamed was accepting the role as a scapegoat over the forex losses suffered by Bank Negara in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
"He admitted responsibility for the huge losses but denied that he was solely responsible for decisions on forex trading by Bank Negara.
"Does it mean other people are involved? Who are they? What is certain was Nor Mohamed avoided implicating the then prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) and finance minister (Anwar Ibrahim)," Puad said.
Haniff, a lawyer for Mahathir, also stated that he intended to lodge a complaintagainst Puad with the RCI. - Mkini
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