Lawyer Rosli Dahlan has crossed swords with the MACC, but now that it appears to be under attack for its 1MDB investigations, he is willing to stand up and battle for the staff of the anti-graft body.

Eight years ago, as Muslims were about to celebrate Hari Raya, MACC officers arrested Rosli at his office and took him to court on a dubious charge that is now infamously known as the 'Copgate affair' .

After Rosli won his criminal trial and was acquitted by a sessions court in Kuala Lumpur, the prosecution filed an appeal and kept it hanging over his head for two years before withdrawing it.

Rosli then vowed to hold all those who fixed him accountable. He then filed and won a series of legal suits against several mainstream media publications, including New Straits Times , which, together with MACC, had to pay him damages of RM300,000.

He also filed an RM48 million suit for malicious prosecution against the MACC, then attorney-general (AG) Abdul Gani Patail, former inspector-general of police (IGP) Musa Hassan, MACC Chief Commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed and now Judicial Commissioner Nordin Hassan, who was then MACC chief prosecutor.

The MACC has, of late, been investigating SRC International Sdn Bhd, which had a RM4 billion fund injection from the Pensioners Fund (KWAP), and had also allegedly channelled RM42 million into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal accounts.

Then, suddenly, the MACC had several of its officers investigated by the police, an action that many in the MACC and legal circles see as an obstruction of justice.

Rosli has similar feelings. He told Malaysiakini today that he and others observed that whoever directed the recent actions to investigate or maliciously prosecute the MACC officers would be violating Section 23(2) and (3) of the MACC Act, which deals with abuse of powers over matters a person or persons may have an interest in.

Lawyers should stand up and help MACC

Looking at what happened to the MACC officers, including its Special Operations director Bahri Mohamad Zin and its former strategic communications director Rohaizad Yaakob, and the removal of Gani as AG, Rosli thinks it is time for many lawyers to stand up and help, despite past conflicts they may have had with MACC or the Attorney-General’s Chambers (AGC).

In 2010, Rosli said, ‎when former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director Ramli Yusof was acquitted and he (Rosli) was about to begin his trial, he wrote an impassioned appeal to MACC’s Abu Kassim.

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“I implored upon Abu Kassim ( photo ) not to allow this sacred institution (MACC) to be used as tool of oppression and persecution in the guise of false prosecution against innocent citizens. Otherwise, you will, one day, see your own hand in the destruction of t‎his institution, I told him.

“Those words of mine have been proven prophetic. What goes around comes around,” Rosli said, pointing out that what happened to the sacking of Gani as AG, as well as the troubles engulfing MACC today.

“But now, we must support the MACC from interference. We must support Gani against his unconstitutional removal. We must stand by principles, not personalities. This is to ensure we have rule of law in our country, and not rule by law,” Rosli said, making clear he is willing to forget his past conflicts with MACC.

Being a victim of persecution in the past, Rosli said, in response to another question from Malaysiakini as to whether he was willing to help MACC officers, the lawyer said he was more than prepared to do so.

“All those MACC officers who have been detained, removed, transferred, raided or subjected to smear campaigns by the mainstream media or bloggers can come to me. I will assemble a team of lawyers to correct the situation by suing to seek reinstatement, filing for injunctions and various orders, and seek damages.

“This is to make that sure those violating the law are held accountable in court and subjected to cross-examination to explain their misconduct. We can initiate judicial reviews under Order 53 of the Rules of Court 2012 and other declaratory actions for remedies,” he said.

No absolute immunity

The lawyer also said that in his on-going suit against Gani, Abu Kassim and the MACC, where Gani sought to strike out the suit, High Court judge Justice Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera had written a damning judgment against Gani's claim of immunity.

In that judgment, Justice Vazeer said there is no such thing as absolute immunity as it is anathema to the modern notion of democracy and accountability.

Jus tice Vazeer's judgment, Rosli opined, could be “God's way of helping this nation in anticipation of these things that are taking place 

now.

“For God works in mysterious ways,” Rosli added, stating that his suits against Gani and the others were in their personal capacity for abusing their positions and the he would go through with them, even though Gani ( photo ) has been removed and Musa Hassan has retired, and that Justice Vazeer's ruling still stands, with the Court of Appeal having dismissed Gani's appeal.

Rosli also gave a word of caution to current IGP Khalid Abu Bakar and the cabinet ministers that they too can be held accountable if they commit criminal acts while in office, for there is no limitation period for criminal action.

The lawyer also questioned MACC's recent statements clearing Prime MInister Najib Abdul Razak in the 1MDB imbroglio, and stating that the RM2.6 billion ‎in Najib’s private bank accounts was a political donation.

What is gratification?

‎Rosli explained: "The meaning of gratification under Section 3 of the MACC Act clearly includes 'donation, office, forbearance, favours of any description including protection from criminal or disciplinary action'.

“For that matter, for the prime minister to offer and for the four Public Accounts Committee members to accept the government posts, can also be seen as corrupt gratification because they have abandoned their duties to report to Parliament by stalling the on-going inquiry and are instead protecting the prime minister.

"Also, if the No 1 and No 2 of MACC are on leave, who issued these statements clearing the prime minister and Umno? Also, who transferred these officers?" Rosli asked.

"Section 6(4) of the MACC Act clearly states that these officers come under the direction, control and supervision of the chief commissioner. Thus, even though they are members of the national public service, it may be illegal for the director-general of the Public Services Department to transfer them summarily, as a form of punishment," he explained.

Since last Saturday, an MACC deputy public prosecutor (DPP), Ahmad Shazalee Abdul Khair, and six officers were hauled up by the police and investigated under Section 124B of the Penal Code for activities detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

This police action followed the leak of a charge sheet, purportedly against Najib, published by Sarawak Report on its website.

The MACC arrests included Bahri ( photo ), whose team is investigating the SRC case, where he, along with his deputy Tan Kang Sai and two investigating officers, also had their statements taken, and offices and homes ransacked.

When Bahri warned the perpetrators behind the police action that he would find them till kingdom come , he was served a 24-hour transfer order - to the Prime Minister's Department, effective last Friday, along with MACC's strategic communication director, Rohaizad Yaakob.

MACC deputy chief Mohd Shukri Abdull then came out with a statement calling for Bahri and Rohaizad to be returned to the MACC, and that he was willing to be the sacrificial lamb to replace them in the Prime Minister's Department.

Two ministers in Najib's cabinet namely Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin , who is also youth and sports minister, and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Paul Low , have since had subtly criticised the transfers.