Bukit Mertajam MP Steven Sim Chee Keong has urged the authorities to focus on arresting the perpetrator who stole Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman's money instead of probing the latter.
"I don't understand why Syed Saddiq, who filed a report on the missing money, is the one being probed.
"If it's illegal money, why would he file a report?" Sim said in a statement.
Sim was reacting to a media report that the MACC was probing Syed Saddiq over RM250,000 in cash missing from his house.
Sim noted that throughout his stint at the Youth and Sports Ministry (KBS) under the previous Pakatan Harapan government, he had known Syed Saddiq as someone who had implemented a stern integrity policy.
Syed Saddiq was the youth and sports minister while Sim was his deputy.
He said a month after they were entrusted to lead the KBS, Syed Saddiq had announced five integrity plans namely open tender for all ministry acquisitions; forensics audit in each department; the implementation of the corruption risk mitigation report; the stationing of MACC officers at the minister's office; and asset declaration by officers at the minister's office.
"When our services ended in February 2020, KBS had improved its ranking from the eighth place in the top ten ministries with a high risk of corruption to the 16th place," he said.
Sim added that Syed Saddiq is believed to have declared his asset twice throughout the 22-month stint of the Harapan government.
He expressed fears that Syed Saddiq would become a political victim under the Perikatan Nasional government.
The Bersatu Armada youth chief filed a police report in March after his money went missing from a safe box.
In a statement yesterday, Syed Saddiq stressed that he did not understand why a minister would take bribes when they already received high allowances.
He welcomed the probe and noted that there was an attempt by certain individuals to link him to corruption.
"I joined politics to clean politics, not for the position and money," he said.
Syed Saddiq also noted that he was one of the ministers who had declared assets and practised the open tender policy for all contracts. - Mkini
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