PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said he is not informed of the alleged raid that was conducted at opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s home this week.
“That’s up to the Inland Revenue Board and the investigative authorities. I was not informed,” Anwar told reporters after performing his Friday prayers at Cyberjaya earlier today (June 16).
His response comes in spite of fugitive blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin’s (RPK) earlier speculation that the raid was a form of political persecution given the fact that it took place barely a month or so from the six state polls.
In fact, RPK had alleged in a tweet that the Prime Minister “[wanted] to be sure that Hamzah will not be the ‘poster boy” PM of PN (Perikatan Nasional)”.
LHDN telah serbu rumah Ketua Pembangkang Hamzah Zainuddin. Sebelum ini SPRM telah serbu rumah Hamzah. PM Anwar Ibrahim nak menentukan yang Hamzah tidak akan menjadi “Poster Boy” PM Perikatan Nasional. pic.twitter.com/kmCzd2HTPL
— Raja Petra Bin Raja Kamarudin (@RajaPetra) June 15, 2023
Yesterday (June 15) a PN source told FMT that a few documents were seized by the authorities in the raid of the Larut MP’s house in Damansara, Petaling Jaya.
While the source claimed to be unaware of the cause for the raid, a second source from PN stalwart Bersatu, of which Hamzah is the secretary-general, alleged that the raid was intended to “tarnish Bersatu’s name and create a negative perception against us.”
In February, the former home minister accused the Anwar-led unity government of using Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) as a political tool after the anti-corruption watchdog froze Bersatu’s accounts.
Hamzah denied being involved in a RM15 mil corruption case after his name was mentioned in corruption charges against businessman Datuk Seri Sim Choo Thiam.
In May, Sim was charged by the session’s court here for soliciting and accepting bribes amounting to RM15 mil to secure projects from the Home Ministry in 2021, during Hamzah’s tenure as minister.
Hamzah had questioned why his name was being referenced, alleging that these were “accusations deliberately fabricated in such a way to drag my name into matters that do not directly involve me”. – June 16, 2023
