Former Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) director-general Shafee Yahaya has denied blogger Raja Petra Kamarudin's claim that he closed the alleged graft case against Azmin Ali in 1995 on the instructions of Anwar Ibrahim.

NONE Instead, he said, he had recommended to Anwar, who was then deputy prime minister and finance minister, that disciplinary action be taken against Azmin ( left ), at that time Anwar's private secretary.

In an exclusive interview with English daily New Straits Times , Shafee said disciplinary action is one of three options in any corruption probe.

"If that person is a civil servant and, for example, if there are no elements of corruption but there's a situation where that person has considerable debts and lives beyond his means, then there will be disciplinary action," the English daily quoted Shafee as saying.

The other two options are prosecution in court and closing the case.

Shafee said although the probe had revealed that Azmin was deep in debt, it did not uncover "strong elements of corruption" to warrant prosecution.

He went on to deny that he ordered the case be closed. "Where is the proof that I asked the IO (investigation officer) to stop his probe?" he asked.

However Shafee did not disclose whether his recommendation to Anwar that disciplinary action be taken against Azmin was acted upon.

'Involved in graft'

Earlier Raja Petra alleged on his website Malaysia Today he has obtained documents that prove Azmin ‘was involved in graft'.

PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim pkr fund raising dinner 1 He said "a thick file of hundreds of documents" was handed over to him last month by a "very disillusioned" retired MACC officer who wanted to expose corrupt officers, and the file showed that the ACA had gathered concrete evidence to arrest and prosecute Azmin for corruption.

However, he claimed, that Shafee had buried the file, tagging it ‘no further action' on Anwar's ( right ) instruction.

Shafee, in his interview with the New Straits Times , challenged the whistleblower to come forward to help in Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission's (MACC) investigations.

MACC was known as ACA before it was upgraded to a commission in 2009.

On why the investigation paper was not referred to the Attorney-General's Chambers, Shafee argued that it was the duty of his subordinate officer to inform the chambers and it was impossible for him to monitor all cases and their details.

 

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