KUALA LUMPUR (July 20): An officer with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) denied in court on Wednesday (July 20) that the agency practised "double standards" when it went after former Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
MACC investigating officer Mohd Syahmeizy Sulong denied suggestions from lead defence counsel Gobind Singh Deo that the agency was trying to protect Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who was then prime minister and who allegedly withdrew party funds without prior approval from the party's Supreme Council, an act for which Gobind pointed out that his client has been charged for criminal breach of trust (CBT) and is now standing trial for.
Mohd Syahmeizy said he was only put in charge of investigating the CBT charge against Syed Saddiq, who is accused of abetting youth wing Angkatan Bersatu Anak Muda’s (Armada) former assistant treasurer Rafiq Hakim Razali in committing CBT involving RM1 million belonging to Bersatu Youth, when they withdrew the funds from a party account without permission from party leadership.
The funds, according to Rafiq's earlier testimony and confirmed by Syahmeizy, was later distributed to Federal Territories Bersatu Youth information chief Muhammad Daniel Kusari (RM650,000) and Bersatu Youth member Muhammad Naqib Ab Rahim (RM250,000), while RM100,000 was used to fund Armada programmes.
Gobind: It was also raised in this case that Muhyiddin had also withdrawn large sums from (Bersatu) account without (Supreme Council) approval?
Mohd Syahmeizy: I'm not sure.
Gobind: You said you read everyone's statements in this case. It was mentioned that (Bersatu) President had also withdrawn large sums?
Mohd Syahmeizy: Yes.
Gobind: President (Bersatu) at that time was Muhyiddin and he was also the (then) prime minister, correct?
Mohd Syahmeizy: Yes.
Gobind: Any statements taken from him?
Mohd Syahmeizy: No. I only focused on the withdrawal of the RM 1 million from the (Bersatu Youth wing) Armada's account without the approval of the party Supreme Council.
Gobind: Isn't that the norm (amalan), to take money without the approval (of party Supreme Council) ?
Mohd Syahmeizy: I'm not sure.
Gobind: Because you did not investigate ?
Mohd Syahmeizy: Yes.
Gobind: Double standards. So complaints on other people you investigate, but complaint on the (then) prime minister you didn't investigate.
Mohd Syahmeizy: No. I only focused on the withdrawal of the RM1 million from the (Bersatu youth wing) Armada's account without the approval of the party Supreme Council.
Gobind: There were no investigations on others because you want to protect them. MACC is used as a political tool to bring actions to some parties.
Mohd Syahmeizy: No.
Despite not investigating the party president at the time, the witness told the court that Muhyiddin had withdrawn the money for party use and not personal expenditure.
But when questioned further by Gobind, Mohd Syahmeizy said this was merely his "view" on the matter.
He then agreed with Gobind that the anti-graft body falls within the purview of the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), but denied that MACC would not be able to investigate the then prime minister because of this.
Gobind also highlighted that the court had heard that an MACC officer named "Ehsan", who was involved in investigating the case, had told Syed Saddiq that the young politician was a "victim of politics". Mohd Syahmeizy said he was not unaware of this.
During proceedings earlier in the day, Gobind referred to a Facebook live video Syed Saddiq had posted on July 22, 2020 to another prosecution witness — MACC forensic officer Nor Fadhillah Mohd Salleh — and asked why she had not lodged a police report against the Bersatu president for similar wrongdoing.
During his cross examination of Nor Fadhillah, Gobind said the video indicated that neither Bersatu's president nor other leaders in the party's leadership had tabled fund withdrawals to the party's Supreme Council since the party's inception in 2016.
In response, Nor Fadhillah said she had only been tasked to extract a small portion of the video for analysis and that Muhyiddin's name was not mentioned in that portion.
Gobind: Yesterday, I said the video had mentioned the actions of (tingkah laku) the president, which I named as Muhyiddin, and I asked why a police report was not lodged.
Nor Fadhillah: I didn't see the entire video.
Gobind highlighted that per Section 25 of the MACC Act 2009, it was the responsibility of an officer to lodge a report on any transactions of bribery. Subsequently, he asked if Fadhillah was prepared to do that now.
Gobind: Are you prepared to lodge a police report against Muhyiddin now?
Nor Fadillah: I didn't hear his name.
Gobind: Were you ready to make a report against the (Bersatu) president at that time?
Nor Fadillah: There was no reason to, as I didn't hear his name.
Gobind: With respect, yesterday, you (agreed that you heard that it is Bersatu president). You are an officer of the law. You took an oath. Don't play the fool.
Nor Fadillah: I don't know and it is outside my jurisdiction in the forensic department.
Besides the CBT charge, Syed Saddiq is standing trial for the misappropriation of RM120,000 of party funds, and two money laundering charges involving RM50,000 each.
The trial before Judicial Commissioner Datuk Azhar Abdul Hamid continues on Thursday (July 21).
Read also:
MACC: Delay in charging Syed Saddiq due to having to synchronise statements from various investigation papers