MACC oversight panel meets for last time today, insists Najib should face charges
(TMI) – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Operations Review Panel will meet for the last time today, still adamant that the prime minister must face charges over his alleged financial scandals, sources say.
Speculation is rife that the panel is likely to be disbanded as the one-year term of the eight-man group, chaired by former Sarawak state secretary Tan Sri Dr Hamid Bugo ends today, as members have not received extension letters.
The others in the panel are Tan Sri Mohamed Jawhar Hassan, Datuk Zamani Abdul Ghani, Datuk Azizah Arshad, Datuk Wan Abdul Wahab Abdullah, Professor Dr Normah Omar, Dr Sundramoorthy M. Pathmanathan and Lim Chee Wee.
This committee has been pushing for the investigations into the prime minister over his alleged financial scandals to be reopened, after it was ordered close by Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali last month.
The review panel is one of the five oversight committees set up following the rebranding of MACC in 2009. The terms of reference of the review panel, among others, are to present its views on cases where no charges were preferred against the accused by the public prosecutor.
Sources told The Malaysian Insider this panel has also been critical when Apandi declined to frame charges against Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the Finance Ministry-owned SRC International Sdn Bhd because of “insufficient evidence”.
They had also expressed concern when Apandi, who is also public prosecutor, refused to assist MACC investigators to obtain documents and statements from abroad as part of their probe, under the mutual legal assistance (MLA) initiative, over the RM2.6 billion funnelled into Najib’s bank accounts.
Apandi, who was appointed last July, ordered MACC to close the files into three investigation papers but former A-G Tan Sri Abu Talib Othman said Apandi has no such authority.
“Insyallah (God willing), we are on the same page that Najib ought to be charged with alleged offences,” a panel member said on condition of anonymity.
