Nurul Izzah: Probe obstruction of justice after revelation of alleged charge sheet against PM

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 — PKR lawmaker Nurul Izzah Anwar called today for an investigation on a purported obstruction of justice after a minister implied that Tan Sri Gani Patail was removed as Attorney-General to prevent corruption charges from being filed against Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The Lembah Pantai MP said Umno minister Datuk Abdul Rahman Dahlan’s comments to local daily The Star, in which he reportedly said drastic action had to be taken after the purported draft charge sheet against Najib emerged online, was a clear abuse of power, just like the corruption charges against her father and former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in 1999.

“An immediate investigation into obstruction and interference arising from the charge sheet revelation must commence; nothing else can to salvage the credibility of the authorities and restore public confidence,” Nurul Izzah, who is also PKR vice-president, said in a statement.

The opposition lawmaker described the police arrests of senior Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers, who had been investigating a former 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) subsidiary, SRC International, and the short-lived transfer of two MACC senior officials, as infringements on the duties of investigative agencies.

“Worse, from the horse’s mouth — Minister Rahman Dahlan has now confirmed the prime minister’s involvement in obstructing a criminal investigations involving himself,” said Nurul Izzah.

In an interview with The Star, Rahman had said he was unsure if the draft charge sheet against Najib was authentic, but said in that scenario, people had to be taken out first so things would get back to normal.

“If you could appreciate that scenario then you would understand the flurry of action taken by the PM,” he said, according to a transcript of the minister’s interview in the English daily.

Abdul Gani had been heading a multi-agency taskforce investigating allegations that RM2.6 billion was moved through companies linked to 1MDB and deposited in Najib’s personal bank account, two months before the 13th general election in May 2013.

Last month, he was unceremoniously replaced with Federal Court judge Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali who announced the taskforce was disbanded.

Najib has denied using public funds for personal use, while the MACC has said that the RM2.6 billion did not come from 1MDB, but was a donation from the Middle East, without identifying the donors.