"Illegal" Wiretapping Was Done In 2016 When Najib Was The PM

Latheefa Koya did not confirm who did the wiretapping and how the MACC managed to get its hands on it

(NST) – Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he was shocked by the release of a voice recording implicating him by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) this morning.

The Pekan member of parliament said he had referred the matter to his lawyers for further action.

“I am shocked by this revelation… I am looking into the content (of the recording),” Najib told reporters during lunch break at his SRC International Bhd trial at the High Court here.

“Such a thing has never been done in our country… The timing of this is close to the Kimanis by-election.”

Asked whether he believed it was a political attack against him, Najib said the timing of the release was close to the by-election.

On the obvious wire tapping that had been done on his phone, Najib said he would look into the legal provisions concerning this.

“I will have to see what can be done.

“After all I was the head of the government at that time,” he said.

Asked if this meant the conversation actually took place, Najib said: “I need to check. I haven’t checked yet.”

Earlier today, MACC released a number of phone recordings of Najib when he was sorting out issues surrounding the investigation into 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) in 2016.

At a press conference today, MACC chief commissioner Latheefa Koya played nine clips of phone conversations between Jan 5, 2016, and July 29, 2016. She said the recordings, which lasted nearly 45 minutes in total, were received by the MACC “after the new year” (January 2020).