NEVER mind that the court of public opinion want him nailed for the corruption and money laundering allegations levelled at him but commonsense would dictate that there is a strong case against ninth premier (PM9) Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob with him having to resume his interrogation this morning (March 14).
After two postponements on what his detractors would gladly describe as “dubious medical grounds”, the Bera MP showed up at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) headquarters at 9.46am yesterday (March 13) before leaving at 3.13pm.
But the little more than five hours of ‘grilling’ has two halves after Tan Sri Azam Baki, the head honcho of the graft buster, confirmed that the man best remembered as fashionista for his striking shirts will return at 9am today (March 14) to resume the recording of his statement.
Already on March 1, he was questioned for five hours at the MACC headquarters pertaining to hundreds of millions of ringgit spent on promotional and publicity expenditures during his Keluarga Malaysia administration from 2021 to 2022.
To his credit, he later made a brief statement that he would fully cooperate with authorities until the conclusion of the investigation.
‘Disowned by UMNO’
That he holds the record as Malaysia’s PM with the shortest stint (14 months) has been a bane to the 65-year-old Ismail Sabri as he was trolled for being able to amassed substantial unlawful fortune despite his short-lived 14-month tenure.
This came about after Azam Baki disclosed on March 3 that he is a suspect in an ongoing corruption and money laundering investigation following the discovery of approximately RM170 mil in cash at a safe house during a raid.
Held in numerous currencies such as baht, riyal, pound sterling, won, euro, Swiss franc and yuan, the cash was seized alongside 16kg of pure gold bars valued at nearly RM7 mil.
Additionally, 13 bank accounts containing over RM2 mil have been frozen as part of the probe.
Compounding Ismail Sabri’s misery is accusation that he feigned illness. His medical ordeal started soon after the Feb 22 incident when he was rushed to the Sunway Medical Centre Kota Damansara at 2.30am after being found unconscious, purportedly due to high blood pressure.
Coincidence or otherwise, he had had his statement recorded at the MACC’s headquarters in Putrajaya three days prior on Feb 19 after having submitted his asset declaration on Feb 10.
Alamak, just revoke that doctor’s licence lar. He does not even know if patient ok or.
Investigate the doctor for malpractice and misuse of MC. pic.twitter.com/qX6Io3s1HG
— Alawiyah Yussof 🏴 (@AlawiyahYussof) March 11, 2025
Following two back-to-back postponements – on March 5 and March 7 on medical grounds – detractors had a gala time poking fun on Ismail Sabri as MACC officials also spoke to Ismail Sabri’s doctor to assess whether his medical condition justified the repeated delays.
Perhaps a bigger humiliation – at least from a political stand-point – is that of the former UMNO vice-president being ‘disowned’ by his own party after president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi reiterated the party’s distancing and connection to Ismail Sabri’s woes.
“We are of the opinion that UMNO was never involved with the money and gold bars that were seized by the MACC,” commented the Deputy Prine Minister (DPM) on the eve of Ismail Sabri’s date with MACC (March 12).
“It has no direct connection to political funds or collections raised by UMNO, hence we leave it to the MACC to conduct a transparent and fair investigation into the case.” – March 14, 2025
Main image credit: Astro Awani
