MACC rot started from 2016 video clip, Azam's saga, says Ramkarpal

SHAH ALAM - DAP MP Ramkarpal Singh has alleged that the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) image was tarnished by 2016 leaked audio pf former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the 1MDB scandal.

Ramkarpal's stand differs from former Chief Justice Raus Shariff who had said recently MACC seemed to have enjoyed public confidence before the appointment of "active politicians" in the institution.

The Bukit Gelugor MP added : "as a former CJ, Raus ought to have been candid about the image of the MACC which took a beating when leaked audio recordings of a former prime minister and a would be MACC official in 2016 were made public by former MACC chief Latheefa Koya in 2020 in the presence of current MACC chief Azam Baki.

“Whether or not the said recordings are true, they are certainly damning and ought to have been addressed by Raus, particularly when Azam himself was at the press conference where the recordings were exposed.

"Was Azam’s presence an indication that he believed the said recordings were indeed authentic?,” Ramkarpal said.

This, he said, Raus failed to address the elephant in the room after the recent controversy surrounding Azam's share trade issue which has attracted criticism from the public, leading to a serious confidence deficit of the institution.

“One would have thought such incidents would have been addressed or at least commented on by a former CJ while speaking at the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Forum 2022," Ramkarpal said.

“Raus’ failure to do so and instead, pin the blame of the rot in the image of the MACC on the appointment of a political appointee in the last four years, who I assume to be Latheefa during the reign of Pakatan Harapan, suggests his utter ignorance of public perception of the MACC today, a clear sign of a man detached from reality,” he added.