Cops probing plot to tarnish my reputation, says MACC chief

MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya hopes for a speedy probe into the audio clips implicating high-level government officials and foreign dignitaries in alleged cover-up attempts of 1MDB dealings.

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Latheefa Koya says police have begun probing a report lodged about a plot to tarnish her reputation following the release of nine audio clips implicating high-level government officials and foreign dignitaries in alleged cover-up attempts of 1MDB dealings.

She said the police had opened an investigation paper looking into the complaint.

“The cops have started the process of recording statements,” she told reporters at a press conference after a stepping-down ceremony of the deputy chief commissioner for professionalism and management Jaafar Mahar.

She added that she might be called to Bukit Aman again on this matter.

Latheefa spent almost four hours in Bukit Aman yesterday as police took her statement as part of their investigations into the audio clips.

She had said recently that she had received information that there was a criminal plot to fabricate and distribute materials to slander her by a group of individuals, one of them believed to be a lawyer.

However, she said she would not be threatened or intimidated from carrying out her duty as the chief commissioner of the MACC.

Her officer lodged a police report over the matter.

Meanwhile, Latheefa expressed hope that a speedy investigation would be carried out by the police into the nine audio clips released by MACC.

She said she was very happy with the cooperation shown by the police when she and her officers gave their statements at Bukit Aman police headquarters yesterday evening.

“We have given our full cooperation and we hope things will move fast,” she said.

Latheefa said the police had yet to inform them if they would be called to Bukit Aman again.

The police investigation team was led by Mohd Fazley Ab Rahman from Bukit Aman’s Special Crime Investigation Unit.

Last week, MACC released nine audio clips featuring, among others, former prime minister Najib Razak, his wife Rosmah Mansor, ex-MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Zayed Al Nahyan.

The disclosure of the recordings drew criticism from lawyers, who said it was illegal to wiretap phone conversations, and that it would lead to a trial by media. The MACC chief has refused to respond to the criticism. - FMT