Cops should probe claim on 1MDB audit tampering too, says lawyer

PETALING JAYA: A lawyer has urged the police to investigate claims that an audit report on 1MDB was tampered with, saying the alleged offence is beyond the jurisdiction of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) alone.

SN Nair called on the police to open an investigation paper under Section 218 of the Penal Code which deals with civil servants framing incorrect records to save a person from punishment or seizure of property.

“MACC has the power to investigate scheduled offences under the Penal Code, but it excludes Section 218,” he told FMT.

Those found guilty of the offence can be jailed up to three years, fined, or both.

Yesterday, MACC said it was studying original documents produced by the National Audit Department following Auditor-General Madinah Mohamad’s claim that an aide to former prime minister Najib Razak had instructed her office to remove a paragraph mentioning controversial businessman Low Taek Jho.

The anti-graft body said it would summon several witnesses soon to record their statements.

Madinah claimed the directive to fiddle with the audit report came from Najib’s private secretary during a meeting with the 1MDB board of directors, on grounds that the information was “sensitive”.

“They wanted to prevent any distortion of facts by the opposition,” she said, adding that the aide had allegedly issued the directive on Feb 26, 2016.

Najib’s lawyer, Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, said Madinah’s statement was premature and against due process.

He also accused Madinah of making no attempt to contact Najib before releasing her statement.

However, lawyer Mohamed Haniff Khatri Abdulla said it was ridiculous for Shafee to suggest that Madinah should have consulted Najib before making her statement.

He said there was no duty in law to make such consultations before exposing wrongdoing or lodging reports with the enforcement authorities.

“It is the duty of the enforcement agencies to act swiftly on this expose and take immediate action against all wrongdoers without exception and in obedience to the rule of law.” -FMT