Army chief put on leave pending probe, says defence ministry

 Defence minister Khaled Nordin says this administrative measure is being taken to ensure the investigation proceeds smoothly without any conflict of interest.

Khaled Nordin previously said the ministry would wait for the outcome of an official investigation before acting on allegations of ‘large cash inflows’ into the bank accounts of a senior military officer and his family members. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

 The defence ministry today announced that army chief Hafizuddeain Jantan would be placed on immediate leave pending investigations into allegations against him.

In a statement, minister Khaled Nordin said this administrative measure was being taken to ensure the investigation proceeds smoothly without any conflict of interest.

While Khaled did not elaborate on the allegations against Hafizuddeain, his statement follows claims about “large cash inflows” into the bank accounts of a senior military officer and his family members.

The funds were alleged to have been transferred from accounts belonging to companies that had obtained military contracts.

Khaled previously said the ministry would wait for the outcome of an official investigation before acting on the allegations.

On Thursday, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was reported to have recorded statements from three people as part of its investigation into military procurement contracts.

A source from the MACC said initial checks revealed that several companies repeatedly secured high-value military contracts, which raised suspicions.

Another source had also said that the commission’s officers visited the defence ministry to begin a preliminary probe into several projects involving the army from 2023.

Khaled also said the chief of the navy, Zulhelmy Ithnain, would assume the duties of the chief of the Malaysian armed forces with immediate effect.

He said this comes ahead of the upcoming retirement of Malaysian armed forces chief Nizam Jaffar.

“The defence ministry expresses its highest appreciation for Nizam’s service, leadership and contributions throughout his tenure in leading the armed forces. We wish him a smooth and fulfilling retirement,” Khaled said.

In November, FMT reported that Nizam and Razali Alias, head of the Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation, were believed to be leaving military service soon.

The minister had then said that the pair were reaching their retirement age of 60. Nizam turns 60 on Aug 3 next year while Razali will be 60 on Dec 16 next year.

Khaled had denied that the retirement of the duo was connected to an MACC probe, following allegations that their departures were linked to the arrest of 10 individuals — including military officers — suspected of involvement in a drug-smuggling case in August. - FMT