With the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) new headquarters in place, several opposition leaders are urging the graft-buster to show renewed vigour in its work.

Parti Warisan Sabah’s (Warisan) deputy president Darrell Leiking said the commission must demonstrate its independence.

“This is the tipping point for MACC to show that they are independent. 

“(With a) new building, (they must also) show new commitment, new responsibilities, and (handle) new challenges for them. That is to be independent and show all of you that they can serve you and prosecute where there is full evidence to prosecute,” he told reporters outside the new building in Putrajaya today.

He was speaking at a press conference together with Pakatan Harapan leaders after the group handed a memorandum to the MACC, urging it to reopen investigations into the 1MDB scandal.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who was also present, said the new building was impressive, but it and the MACC were both meaningless if they could not dispel Malaysia’s reputation as a “global kleptocracy”.

He said the MACC should mount a campaign to clear Malaysia’s name, whether the government supports the campaign or not. 

“One way to do this is to re-open investigations into 1MDB.

“It makes no sense that the whole world knows that this is a world-class scandal, but Malaysia including the MACC pretends that this is not a problem,” he said.

According to Lim, MACC began occupying the new building one or two months ago.

Other opposition leaders present include PKR president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Amanah secretary-general Mohd Anuar Tahir, and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia vice-president Abdul Rashid Asari.

The group and about 30 others had walked about 600 metres from the Putrajaya Sentral station to the MACC headquarters. Many of them had taken the train from Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya, but later departed by car.

The move is part of the run-up to Harapan and Warisan’s planned “Sayangi Malaysia, Hapuskan Kleptorasi” (Love Malaysia, Destroy Kleptocracy) rally on Oct 14.

The memorandum submitted today was addressed to MACC chief commissioner Dzulkifli Ahmad, and highlights the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) allegations in its court filings regarding “Malaysian Official 1”.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan previously said "Malaysian Official 1" is Najib, but stressed that the PM is not a subject of the DOJ's lawsuit. 

“The matter is no longer just about hundreds of million of 1MDB funds that had been misappropriated through intermediary companies to (Najib’s stepson) Riza Aziz, the son of (prime minister’s spouse) Rosmah Mansor to produce films in the US and buy bungalows and condominiums in various countries around the world.

“Therefore, we urge that the MACC re-investigate the misappropriation that had clearly taken place in 1MDB and had tarnished Malaysia’s reputation in the eyes of the world,” the memorandum read.

Najib and his family have denied allegations of wrongdoing in relation to the 1MDB scandal, and attorney-general Mohamad Apandi Ali cleared Najib of all charges following an investigation by the police and the MACC.

Another police probe into the 1MDB scandal is still ongoing.