THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today refuted claims that it is being used by the government to target opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, whose son was accused last week of receiving bribes.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki asserted that the anti-graft agency has conducted its investigations professionally and without selective prosecution.
“I do not agree with (Hamzah’s) statement. We act professionally, no matter whether they are government officials or politicians in the current government.
“If a report and offence are identified, we will charge the person in court. That is my only job. There is no selective prosecution here,” he said at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre here today.
Azam added that MACC acts on reports lodged without accounting for rank or politics.
On June 5, Hamzah alleged that the prosecution of his son Muhammad Faisal Hamzah for allegedly accepting a RM100,000 bribe was a “planned political character assassination” aimed at him as the opposition leader.
The former home minister accused the unity government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim of using government agencies to create false narratives against Bersatu leaders.
In other developments, Azam announced the arrest of three customs officials linked to an imported goods smuggling syndicate in Port Klang. The MACC discovered over RM3 mil in cash during the operation, which involved joint intelligence efforts with Singapore.
“We conducted joint intelligence with Singapore to find the parties involved,” he said.
Moreover, Azam provided an update on the MACC’s search for Datuk Muhammad Adlan Berhan, the son-in-law of former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
According to him, Adlan had not contacted MACC to surrender himself, and that the agency was still working with Interpol and other authorities to find him. – June 13, 2024
Main photo credit: FMT
