MACC detains former Prasarana chairman Tajuddin on charges of power abuse

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Former Prasarana non-executive chairman Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman was detained by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) yesterday on two charges of abuse of power.

Several news portals reported that the Pasir Salak MP and Umno election director was detained after he arrived at the MACC headquarters to have his statement recorded yesterday.

He has since been released on oral bail.

A source told Malay Mail that the investigation is linked to the raid at Prasarana office in January this year.

Online news portal The Vibes said Tajuddin was supposed to have been charged yesterday itself. However, the MACC is still awaiting instructions from the Attorney-General’s Chambers.

Details of the charges are not immediately available but Tajuddin has been previously accused of interfering with Prasarana’s operations and business dealings, where allegations of conflict of interest had surfaced.

On May 5, MACC announced that it has concluded its probe on the power abuse issue in Prasarana Malaysia Bhd.

MACC chief commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki said the investigation paper has been submitted to the attorney general’s (AG) office two weeks ago and MACC is now awaiting for the next course of action.

Azam said several cases were found against an individual in Prasarana in which most of the cases are related to abuse of power.

He did not mention any names, but since last year, media had been reporting on power tussles between chairman Tajuddin and former CEO Muhammad Nizam Alias, which had led to the latter’s dismissal in February.

“Let us wait for the AG to study the case and decide the next course of action. Most of the cases involve the element of power abuse under Section 23 of the MACC Act 2009,” he told the press at that time.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) terminated Tajuddin as Prasarana Malaysia Berhad's non-executive chairman with immediate effect

The decision comes on the heels of a public campaign calling for the sacking of Tajuddin from the government-linked company after his disastrous handling of a press conference yesterday to address the two-train collision on the LRT Kelana Jaya line at KLCC that injured over 200 passengers, including six in critical condition.

An online petition calling for his sacking has garnered over 100,000 signatures and declares victory after the sacking.