PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari has fired a scathing remark at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, asking whether the premier was pre-empting justice by indirectly branding Albert Tei as guilty, before any court decision.
In a statement today, the Pasir Mas MP also questioned whether Anwar’s former political aide, Shamsul Iskandar Akin, who was recently charged in court alongside Tei, should be labelled similarly if the same logic were applied.
On Dec 4, Shamsul was slapped with four charges of taking RM176,830 in bribes from businessperson Tei.
He was accused of taking kickbacks in his capacity as Anwar’s political secretary at the time, to help Tei’s companies obtain mineral mining licences in Sabah. Tei claimed trial to four charges for giving the bribes to Shamsul.
The next day, Shamsul pleaded not guilty at the Shah Alam Sessions Court over one charge of receiving bribes totalling RM64,924 from Tei, while Tei also pleaded not guilty for allegedly bribing the former.
“I am not siding with Tei, but we are also obliged to be fair. Is the prime minister pre-empting justice in court by portraying Tei as having stolen money or obtained any gains or benefits that would confirm his guilt?
“If so, can we also say that his former political secretary is a ‘hardened recipient of bribes’ when he has only just been charged in court?” Fadhli asked in his Facebook post.
He also accused Anwar of selectively applying moral standards, alleging that the latter continued to cooperate with and praise allies from Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), who were implicated in receiving bribes from Tei.
“Does Anwar consider recipients of bribes to be more noble and pure than givers of bribes?” Fadhli asked.
‘Bribers turned into heroes’
Fadhli was responding to Anwar’s statement, in which he said there was growing confusion in the country, with thieves and corrupt individuals being treated as whistleblowers and elevated to the status of “heroes”.
Speaking in the Senate on Dec 16, Anwar said that “someone” who steals RM1 billion but later cooperates with MACC to recover a fraction of the amount should be described as a “hardened thief” rather than a whistleblower.
He also said there now exists a “culture”, even among politicians themselves, where “individuals who openly admit to bribing political leaders” are glorified.
He did not explicitly name anyone, but appeared to be alluding to Tei.
The prime minister also announced that the government intends to amend the Whistleblower Protection Act 2010, and that it is expected to be tabled early next year.
While Fadhli welcomes the proposed amendments, he questioned whether the premier was genuine, highlighting that Anwar had previously turned down Tei’s plea to seek protection as a whistleblower.
“According to records, Tei, as a whistleblower, exposed the Sabah corruption scandal in early November last year, and his lawyer had sent a letter to the prime minister at the time.
“Unfortunately, the prime minister rejected his application for protection in a short period of time, even without any investigation being carried out by the authorities,” he said.
‘Anwar’s silence implies truth’
Fadhli further questioned whether Anwar was willing to substantiate his claims in court, warning that making unproven accusations could be deeply embarrassing if unsupported by evidence.
“Can the prime minister be called to court and present evidence consistent with his argument?
“If he fails, then I do not know where he would put his face. It would be something deeply embarrassing,” he added.
Fadhli also pointed out that to date, Anwar has yet to deny his alleged involvement in the corruption allegations involving Tei and Shamsul, as alleged by a woman linked to Shamsul, Sofia Rini Buyong.
“In the absence of an official denial from Anwar, it implies that what Sofia said is true,” he added.
In the recordings, the woman can be heard telling Tei that Anwar had given his blessings for the Sabah politicians to be secretly recorded.
She also claimed that Shamsul had met with MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki at an undisclosed time to ask the graft buster to “settle” the Sabah mining scandal case involving Tei, prompting calls for the commission and Azam to be recused from the probe on Shamsul.
The woman was initially accused of being a proxy to Shamsul, but she later denied the matter.
In a second video clip released early last month, Anwar was linked to the support letter scandal involving Shamsul.
The clip that was again shared on the Pejuang Tun Dr Mahathir Facebook page shows the same woman with her face blurred, saying that a single support letter was issued for six contractors.
“Actually, as for your information, when Anwar came up in the first and second times, many asked for support letters from him. He did not want to sign. He asked Shamsul to sign it all.
“First and second year. Shamsul. All were signed by Shamsul. Meaning for 2023 till 2024, all were signed by Shamsul on the orders of the boss,” the woman was heard saying.
The woman also alleged that this was conveyed to her by Shamsul himself. She, however, claimed that the matter was a standard procedure and not out of the ordinary.
On Nov 19, Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat that he reprimanded Shamsul for issuing the support letter. - Mkini
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