Know limits of your jurisdiction, Wan Saiful’s lawyer tells MACC

 

Lawyer Chetan Jethwani said the notice issued to his client by MACC encroached upon and interfered with the jurisdiction of Parliament.

PETALING JAYA: Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s lawyer has told the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to justify on legal grounds its decision to investigate the parliamentarian for a statement he made in the Dewan Rakyat.

Yesterday, the opposition MP told the Dewan Rakyat he was served a notice by the MACC to have his statement recorded by the anti-graft body following his claim in the lower house last month that he had been pressured and threatened into pledging his support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

In a letter addressed to a senior enforcement officer of the MACC, law firm Chetan Jethwani said Section 7 of the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 gave their client parliamentary immunity and protected him from any civil or criminal proceedings arising from statements made in the Dewan Rakyat.

“We respectfully ask that you research MACC’s jurisdictional limits when it comes to investigating statements made by MPs, including our client, in the Dewan Rakyat,” the firm’s principal, Chetan Jethwani, said in the letter sighted by FMT.

“The notice issued to our client is beyond MACC’s jurisdiction and encroaches upon and interferes with the jurisdiction of Parliament, and is tantamount to an insult to the Dewan Rakyat and parliamentarians.

“The Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 was enacted to uphold the separation of powers and the freedom of MPs to speak and debate in Parliament.

“Your actions have transgressed and/or violated the principles of separation of power and the concept of parliamentary democracy and opens the door to enforcement officers giving any excuse whatsoever to violate the rights and privileges, and the immunity of parliamentarians in the future,” the letter read.

Chetan said Wan Saiful would have “no issue” cooperating with the MACC if their actions complied with the law.

He said he was copying the letter to top MACC officials and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul as the matter has “serious and severe consequences” on Parliament as an institution.

On Feb 28, Wan Saiful told the Dewan Rakyat he had been contacted on numerous occasions via telephone by unidentified individuals, after which he agreed to meet with them.

“I was told that I must support YB Tambun (Anwar) as prime minister, and in return I would be rewarded with an allocation of RM1.7 million for my constituency, a part of which will be allocated to his service centre,” he said.

The Bersatu man said attempts to sway his support came after he claimed trial to 18 charges of money laundering involving RM5.59 million in October last year.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan.

Wan Saiful’s claim sparked an uproar among government MPs, with Jelutong MP RSN Rayer urging him to lodge a report with MACC.

When relating to the Dewan Rakyat how he had been put under pressure by MACC’s notice, deputy speaker Ramli Noor told him to file a police report immediately.

Ramli said that according to Article 63 of the Federal Constitution, which refers to the privileges of Parliament, anything said in the Dewan Rakyat is not subject to civil and criminal action unless repeated outside of Parliament.

On March 4, MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki said the MACC would give Wan Saiful one week to lodge a report regarding his claim.

In a Bernama report, Azam said anyone who claims to have been offered a bribe is legally bound by Section 25 of the MACC Act 2009 to report it immediately. - FMT