MAINSTREAM New Straits Times somehow broke away from the long-held tradition of blurring the faces of remand suspects by both ‘exposing’ the face and name of former religious affairs minister (April 2009 to May 2018) Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom when the latter was brought to the Putrajaya Magistrate’s Court yesterday (Sept 2).
As national news agency Bernama upheld the legal presumption of innocence before a formal court conviction with a generalised “TH RCI: Former Minister Remanded for Five Days” the English daily boldly headlined the court appearance as “Five-Day Remand for Jamil Khir in TH RCI Probe”.
On top of that, NST’s coverage of the grinning 65-year-old former Jerai MP from the moment of his arrival at 10.26am till his five-day remand order (till Sunday) to assist investigations into a hotel lease matter involving Lembaga Tabung Haji (TH) in Saudi Arabia was issued by Magistrate Ezrene Zakariah, was even extended to YouTube.
Editor’s Note: Apparently, Chinese dailies, too, rarely abide by the face-blurring rule as exposed by Madani keyboard warrior Jason Yew.
Jamil Khir who was clad in an orange lock-up garb and handcuffed was arrested around 4.30pm on Tuesday (Sept 1) after appearing at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya to have his statement recorded.
His case is being investigated under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009 which pertains to soliciting or receiving gratification as an inducement or reward in a transaction.
The offence is punishable under Section 24 of the same Act by up to a 20-year jail term and a fine of at least five times the value of the gratification involved, or RM10,000 whichever is higher upon conviction.
Jamil Khir’s remand order follows that of high-profile former TH chairman Datuk Seri Abdul Azeez Abdul Rahim and ex-treasury secretary-general Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah who were both remanded for seven days on Aug 26 to assist investigations into issues linked to the TH Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) report.
UMNO, BN backers unsettled
Elsewhere, UMNO grassroots are seemingly aggrieved with the series of arrest with pro-Madani political site Unofficial Info exposing such disgruntlement from a post in Friends of BN Facebook page claiming that Azeez Rahim had been released “because there was no case” prior to questioning the MACC’s action against Jamil Khir.
Moreover, the post further lamented that the action was just a “drama to tarnish the image of the UMNO leadership” and suggested that the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-led Madani government be sued.
This led to Unofficial Info mocking the “over-passionate” Barisan Nasional (BN)/UMNO grassroots for “turning everything into a political conspiracy”.
“Remand is not a conviction. Being released from remand is not an automatic certificate that there is no case,” explained the poster.
“Investigation, decision to prosecute and court process are different matters. Even a political page (like Friends of BN) has to attend a basic law class alongside netizens. 😂”
Such observation is spot on given another BN fan page also queried the optics of “both Jamil Khir and Azeez Rahim having to be handcuffed like criminals”.
“What perception is (the Madani government) trying to show?” berated one presumably UMNO grassroot member.
More arrests underway
Public perception or otherwise, MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Abd Halim Aman has made it clear that several individuals previously detained in connection with investigations into the TH Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) will be charged in court today (Sept 3) and tomorrow (Friday).
“The two charges involve abuse of power under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009 and Section 420 of the Penal Code for cheating,” he told a press conference at the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya yesterday (Sept 2).
It was understood that the charges will be filed in courts in Shah Alam, Kuala Lumpur and Kelantan.
“There is also another investigation paper that will be referred to the Attorney-General (AG) with charges expected to be filed next week following the MACC’s latest investigation into a property lease issue involving the Al Rawda investment, namely hotel leases in Mecca and Medina involving 2.49 bil Saudi riyals (RM2.66 bil),” contended Halim.
The graft buster boss also did not rule out further charges against prominent individuals stemming from the hotel-lease investigation.
On the overall, the MACC had opened 14 investigation papers related to the RCI, four of which had been classified as no further action (NFA).
“So far, 18 individuals have been detained, 11 of whom were remanded while 245 witnesses have been called and 60 premises searched and inspected to obtain relevant documents,” revealed Halim.
The 11 individuals remanded included a former CEO and a former CFO of TH Plantation; a former director of Putra Perdana Construction; a former director of Putrajaya Perdana Bhd; and a former Tabung Haji chairman. – Sept 3, 2026
Main image credit: New Straits Times (NST)
