In calling out selective prosecution, political economist Edmund Terence Gomez has questioned why Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz have not been called in for investigation in connection with the Pandora Papers.
The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) chairperson claimed that only former finance minister Daim Zainuddin had been called up by the MACC in its investigations.
During a panel session at the “Corruption as an Economic Problem” forum today, Gomez (above) said that the sole investigation on Daim raised questions on whether there is an element of selective prosecution by the current government.
“If you are calling up Daim, you should also call up the other mentioned in the Pandora Papers, such as (Selayang MP) William Leong.
“That has not happened, that is why I have some concerns. I am happy that politicians who have had allegations of corruption against them are being called up to court. (Former prime minister) Muhyiddin (Yassin) is a good example of that,” he said.
It was reported in February that the MACC recorded statements from a former minister regarding his offshore wealth exposed in the leaked documents. The individual was not named, as with common practice when it comes to people who have yet to be charged in court.
However, the former minister was described as a senior official in Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s administration and was reportedly asked, among others, to explain the money flow and investment into 12 offshore companies registered under him and his family members abroad.
News portals, citing a source, reported that a former prime minister’s son was also summoned for questioning.
The source claimed that more people were likely to be questioned in relation to the Pandora Papers not long after. However, there have been no updates since.
The Pandora Papers refer to a leak of financial documents and other records from 14 offshore service providers that set up and manage shell companies and trusts in tax havens around the globe.
The documents were disclosed to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which in turn provided access to its partners, including Malaysiakini.
Zahid, Zafrul, Daim, amongst others were named in the leak. They each said in 2021 that their accounts were used for legitimate purposes.
Having offshore entities is not illegal, but in some instances, the practice has been linked to tax evasion or tax avoidance. In other cases, it is an attempt to maintain secrecy for various reasons.
Independent enforcement vital
Gomez said that he had more faith in the current administration led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim compared to the previous two administrations, led by Muhyiddin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
However, he claimed that criticisms accusing the current administration of selective prosecution will continue to persist unless the MACC and the Attorney-General Chambers (AGC) are made independent.
“Make them independent and autonomous. And please do something about (the appointment of) MACC commissioners too because if the MACC commissioner is not seen as credible then they have a problem there too.
“Let them (the MACC and the AGC) get on with the job of getting these things done and leave it to these autonomous bodies to prosecute for any allegations of impropriety,” he said.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki drew criticism over his ownership of 1,930,000 shares in Gets Global Berhad (previously KBES Berhad) on April 30, 2015, worth around RM772,000 at the time.
His shareholding in Gets Global Berhad went down to 1,029,500 as of March 31, 2016, worth around RM340,000 at the time. He also held 2,156,000 warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad in March 2016.
The share ownership in 2015 and 2016 had raised questions on whether it was commensurate with his income as a public servant and conflict of interest concerns.
Azam claimed the shares were not his but purchased by his brother in his name, prompting the Securities Commission to also get involved over the possible misuse of his trading account. - Mkini
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