Police sink to new lows in Tawfiq probe

 

When ministers or their deputies make statements in Parliament, we take them to be those of the government and that they are unadulterated truths.

In the past, so many mendacious statements were said about the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and efforts to correct them by the mainstream media were muted by orders not to publish anything except the government’s views.

Those who chose to pursue the issue lost their jobs and The Edge, which sought to offer a different (read: truthful) perspective of the issue, was suspended.

All these have been water under the bridge when the new government took office in 2018. The court cases that followed offered a totally different standpoint on the lies that had been previously perpetrated to cover up wrongdoings and protect some very important persons, the then prime minister included.

But the whiff of lies, untruths and misinformation are once again permeating the hallowed halls of the august House.

On March 1, deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin said the police can only complete their investigation into former Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) governor Zeti Akhtar Aziz’s husband Tawfiq Ayman’s link to 1MDB funds when Singapore reopens its border.

“As the vaccinated travel lane between the two countries has been closed until now, action can only be taken after the two countries reopen their border,” she said at the Dewan Rakyat’s Special Chamber, which heard opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s motion to discuss testimony by former Goldman Sachs Southeast Asia chairman Tim Leissner in a US court.

Deputy law minister Mas Ermieyati Samsudin

To most Malaysians, it would have occurred that Singapore would not consider allowing our officers across the Causeway in view of the Covid-19 situation on the island.

This was reinforced two days later when Bukit Aman said it was waiting for the green light from its Singapore counterparts to cross the border to continue investigating graft allegations against Tawfiq.

Its Commercial Crime Investigation Department director Kamarudin Md Din was quoted as saying the surge in Covid-19 cases due to the Omicron variant in Malaysia and Singapore had disrupted the progress of the investigation.

“We will go as soon as they allow us to cross the border,” Kamarudin said. However, these assertions provided by the deputy minister and the police were far from the truth.

Last week, Malaysians discovered the truth. Singapore police said they had dealt promptly with the requests of their Malaysian counterpart for assistance in the 1MDB-linked probe of Tawfiq.

A statement from the Singapore High Commission said there had been multiple correspondences between the republic’s police force and their Malaysian counterparts to travel to the country for the purpose.

It said the Commercial Affairs Department’s (CAD) had proposed for the Malaysian team to conduct its visit between Feb 8 and Feb 9 this year, but the Malaysian side only responded on March 10, requesting to enter the republic in mid to late March.

Covering up incompetence?

The statements made by Mas Ermieyati and Kamarudin cannot be just dismissed as a “misunderstanding” that we are often told. There’s much more to such words and phrases. It is a reflection of the competence, or rather the lack of it, of our police force and how they go about covering for their lapses.

Tawfiq is no ordinary Joe and this is certainly not investigating someone who has stolen a few chickens in the neighbourhood and neither is it a case of a clerk absconding with the day’s cash collection in a government department.

The allegations against Tawfiq are serious and have a bearing and are connected to several people in high places, including his wife. Hence, all the more reason for urgency in closing the investigation papers and submitting them to the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

He has claimed innocence, swearing that he has never accepted a bribe and for the sake of the truth, the police have to get to the bottom of the claims and do it pronto.

Tawfiq Ayman

Mas Ermieyati said the investigation papers which had been submitted to the AGC were returned to the police on Dec 21 for further investigations in Singapore.

So, what was the reason for the delay in communication?

Singapore says they had set two days in February for the visit of the Malaysian team but there had been no response. Surely, the police must have a better reason for not responding to the letter than blaming it on Covid-19.

This is a microcosm of what is happening in the whole force. This sort of culture has been infused in the system, hence we are told “investigations are in progress” when nothing has moved.

How would the people trust the system, especially the police, when they have misled the public on matters of such importance to the nation? As for Mas Ermieyati, she must have relied on the input from the police when making the statement. Was she also lied to?

This course of events stinks to high heaven and no amount of damage control can remedy the already sullied reputation of the police force. Of course, over days and weeks, it will be forgotten and a new issue will surface which will make the headlines and make people turn their attention.

Having said that, we need to put an end to delayed investigations without proper reasons. For a start, in this instance, the police need to explain themselves for the lapses which have delayed the law from taking its course. - Mkini

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R NADESWARAN is a veteran journalist and writes on bread-and-butter issues. Comments: citizen.nades22@gmail.com

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.