KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has denied practising selective prosecution in its investigations.
On Sunday (Mar 2), Chief Commissioner Azam Baki said no exceptions would be made for anyone involved in corruption, including journalists and politicians.
Azam was responding to the recent arrest of a journalist from an online media portal at a hotel in Shah Alam for allegedly soliciting a RM20,000 (US$4,482) bribe from a foreign worker agent.
“We have strong grounds to believe that the journalist was involved in corruption after RM20,000 in cash was found in his possession,” Azam said on Sunday, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
He added that the investigation found that the money was received in return for taking down published articles and not publishing further reports about a foreign workers’ agency allegedly involved in a syndicate for the entry of foreign workers into Malaysia, according to The Star.
Azam’s comments were in response to calls from some parties who questioned the MACC’s action in detaining the journalist instead of focusing on the allegations of corruption involving foreign workers and immigration officers.
Earlier, Islamist party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan had called on MACC to prioritise investigations into allegations of corruption involving foreign worker agents and immigration officers at the country’s entry points, rather than detaining the journalist who reported on the issue, according to the New Straits Times.
Takiyuddin said the arrest of the journalist who exposed the smuggling of foreign workers was unusual and raised questions.
“PAS believes it would be more appropriate for MACC to first investigate media reports on these suspicious activities rather than taking action against a journalist who merely reported the corruption allegations,” he said, as quoted by the New Straits Times.
Local media previously reported that the arrest of 49-year-old Malaysiakini journalist, B Nantha Kumar, at the Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam on Friday was made after investigations found he had requested RM100,000, later reduced to RM20,000.
He is now under remand until Mar 4, with the case being investigated under Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act 2009, according to local media.
