With the media frenzy hitting high on the speculations that former Penang Deputy Chief Minister 1 Mohammad Fairus Khairuddin could be charged with corruption sometime this week, a high ranking MACC official however poured cold water over the matter.

"Why the hurry to charge him? There is still a long way to go (in the case)," said the official who wanted to remain anonymous.

mohammad fairus penang deputy cm deny resign 160708 01 He said that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission has yet to decide on whether to slap a corruption charge on Mohammad Fairus.

He said that the prosecution division had received the investigation papers at the end of last week but the commission had still some way to go in deciding whether to charge the Penanti assemblyperson.

Yesterday, it was widely reported that Fairus' lawyers had been placed on standby to make an appearance at the Butterworth Sessions Court.

Journalists had also packed the courthouse after news of a possible arraignment broke out over the weekend.

It was reported by MACC director of investigations Sukri Abdul that the commission had completed investigations into Fairus' and handed the investigation papers to the comission's prosecution division.

The source however told Malaysiakini that normally the prosecution division would take some time in studying the investigation papers.

This is to determine whether Fairus has a case to answer or it would require the MACC officers to gather more evidence to complete its investigations, he added.

During this time, it is normal for the prosecution side to hand over the papers back and forth to the investigation division to build a stronger case.

This is a normal procedure adopted within MACC, previously known as the Anti-Corruption Agency, as they usually want to build a watertight case.

As such, the source said it was pointless to be reading too much in the investigation papers being passed on to the enforcement unit last week.

He said that MACC will only charge Fairus when it believed that it has a strong case against Fairus.

However despite MACC's official's insight into the matter, the political forces in Penang are still convinced that Fairus will be charged sometime this week, or even by tomorrow.

His party PKR has also prepared a team of lawyers to defend him. Fairus himself is believed to be in Johor in his in-laws' place.

Involvement in quarry operations

Fairus had resigned from the first deputy chief minister's post effective April 8.

The MACC was reported to have investigated over his alleged dealings in the controversial quarry operations in Seberang Perai.

On March 26, it was reported that Fairus was apprehended by the MACC for questioning at the Sultan Iskandar Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Centre in Johor.

MACC had been tracking Fairus since March 19.

Kepala Batas PKR Youth chief Amizudin Ahmat had said during a municipal council meeting on Feb 27 that there was a high-profile Penang PKR leader who had accepted bribes from the quarry companies in Seberang Perai. He had not named anyone in his claims.

Following that the Penang MACC had taken statement from several individuals in relation to the case.

It is also learnt that the MACC reports against Fairus were lodged by his political enemies within the PKR circle.

MACC officers have also recorded a statement from Fairus' Johor-born wife over his assets in the southern state.

Among the allegations hurled at Fairus was that he had received RM10,000 from a quarry operator to sponsor a trip to London.

However, Fairus is learnt to have told the PKR top leadership the money, which was deposited via a bank account, was a loan from the quarry operator, and that he was planning to settle the sum soon.