Bahri leaving MACC linked to allegations against Dr M?

A source questions the timing of Bahri’s criticism of the government, saying he could have resigned at the height of the SRC probe.

(FMT) – A senior anti-graft officer’s announcement that he was leaving the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was today linked to revelations on Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s and his children’s alleged business interests, said a source.

The source who is familiar with the MACC investigations into 1MDB that were called off last year, questioned the timing of the move by Bahri Mohamad Zain, who resigned as head of MACC’s Special Operations Division (SOD).

“It comes amid revelations that Mahathir’s children have stakes in over 400 companies including government related entities, and many of these occurred when Mahathir was still in office,” the source said (SEE HERE).

“So, is Bahri resigning because of SRC or does he feel betrayed by the hypocrisy of Mahathir, who appears to have allowed his family to abuse the system?

“So, why would Bahri stay on for so long given his “bitterness”?

“These are questions that need to be answered. Bahri should really move on with his life, rather than trying to inflict further harm on the country.” added the source.

Bahri today told FMT that he was opting for early retirement due to unhappiness over the way authorities scuttled investigations into SRC International, the subsidiary of the state sovereign company which has come under scrutiny since 2015.

“I’m not only disappointed, but I also felt like I had sinned against 30 million Malaysians when the SRC case could not be taken to court,” Bahri told FMT.

But the source, speaking on condition of anonymity to FMT, said if SRC was the reason for Bahri’s guilty feeling, he should have resigned “last year or in 2015”.

Bahri was one of the key figures in the anti-graft body at the height of its investigations into 1MDB last year.

He was among those questioned by police over the leak of a charge sheet MACC was said to have prepared for Najib Razak, following revelations that some RM2.6 billion was transferred into his account, money the prime minister said was a political donation from the Saudi royal family for Umno.

Last year, Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali cleared Najib of any wrongdoing in the case.