COMMENT The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has an obligation to protect its independence of investigation, and at the same time a royal commission of inquiry should be set up to unravel the truth behind the case involving the sitting Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar was so eager to interview former PetroSaudi International executive Andre Xavier Justo, but after being given the cold shoulder in Bangkok, now he is saying that the Royal Malaysian Police (PDRM) will decide whether it needs to interview Justo. What a spin!

In the first place, everything revolving the 1MDB scandal appears fishy. It ‘imploded’ only after The Wall Street Journal ( WSJ ) brought it into broad daylight. I believe for some time international media, including Sarawak Report , had been following the 1MDB scandal.

No one knew anything about it until Justo provided the documents to the whistleblowers. The Edge was also on the investigative trail, but being a local publication, it faces the axe. To date, Najib has not sued the WSJ or Sarawak Report , perhaps for fear that more documents would have to be produced in court.

Public interest

First, it involves the highest authority in the country in his capacity as prime minister, finance minister and chairperson of 1MDB’s advisory board, and while Najib is still in office, investigations carried out against him would not proceed unobstructed.

As it is, former attorney-general Gani Patail has been removed unceremoniously. Within less than 48 hours after criticising the 1MDB, even former deputy prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin was dropped from the cabinet.

Several public accounts committee members including its chairperson Nur Jazlan Mohamed have been elevated to various cabinet positions, and despite having enough quorum, the committee became dysfunctional overnight.

Unprecedentedly, the PAC secretary overrode the vice-chairperson’s power to carry on the investigation, while the ‘reformist’ parliament speaker Pandikar Amin Mulia said the PAC could not carry on with the investigation. This is nothing but interference into the work of the PAC, which is detrimental to parliamentary democracy.

How can parliament expect the PAC to carry out its duty without fear or favour, if its investigation into the 1MDB could also be stopped by the powers-that-be?

Meanwhile, seven Bank Negara Malaysia staff and several other MACC officers were also being investigated by the police. The two senior MACC staff, Bahri Mohamad Zin ( photo ) and Rohaizad Yaakob , were transferred to the Prime Minister’s department.

As far as I can see it, this is nothing but interference by some hidden hands, especially when there were attempts to derail any investigation by the MACC into SRC International. Not to mention the 1MDB probe team has been disbanded.

MACC should use its provisions

Several reports have been filed with the MACC against chief secretary Dr Ali Hamsa and Public Services Department director Mohamad Zabidi Zainal over the transfer of the principal investigator in the thick of the investigation.

At the same time, over the confiscation of laptops and important documents, the MACC should also file police reports against the inspector-general of police.

The public are interested to know who were behind the entire episode, and whether civil servants can be transferred overnight at the whims and fancies of the politicians.

Without a proper investigation to uncover the truth behind the transfer of Bahri and Rohaizad, people will continue to speculate. This is human nature. As it is now, the 1MDB scandal has occupied most of the gossips over teh tarik as well as serious discussions between intellectuals, activists, and other concerned citizens of this country.

Failing to lodge the police reports would mean that the MACC has failed its duty to uphold the second tenet of the Rukunegara, which reads, ‘Loyalty to the Agong and the Country’.

The MACC and other government institutions have to be reminded time and again that their loyalty is only towards the Agong, not the prime minister or the ruling party helming the government machinery.

Prime ministers come and go, and governments can be changed through the ballot box. If a prime minister is found to be involved in a scandal, it is also wrong to protect him. No religion would condone any wrongdoing even by the highest authority in the country.

Time for an RCI

Given that Najib has chosen not to go on leave or lay his hands off the investigation team, then it is time for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to be set up by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

The RCI may not be able to achieve much, but at least it will be able to carry out an open investigation and all parties involved in the scandal would be able to tell the truth. The 1MDB scandal is a matter of public interest and only an RCI can unravel the truth.

If Najib has nothing to hide and the RM2.6 billion was nothing but a donation by a Middle Eastern person, then, he should be the first to agree to the RCI. The people appointed to the RCI should also be approved by the people of this country. Only men of integrity should be appointed to the commission.

At the moment, the public is only able to have some sneak previews of the outcome based on investigations carried out by the MACC.

Most of the information is from the leaked sources, and even that, the police are zealously investigating the sources of the leak instead of getting to the bottom of the 1MDB scandal.

Even after Bank Negara governor Zeti Abdul Aziz ( photo ) said that the investigation report is completed, she is not at a liberty to disclose the outcome of the findings or to decide on prosecuting the parties at fault. Everything is now in the hands of the newly-minted attorney-general, Mohamed Apandi Ali, who was appointed by Najib to replace Gani.

What the country needs is some transparency in this case which involves billions of ringgit in borrowed money. God is great in that He did not allow Pakatan Rakyat to take over Putrajaya in the last general election.

Instead of hitting Pakatan, the 1MDB scandal is now haunting the very people who created the mess. This is the universal rule of ‘sow what you reap’. No one can escape from this universal law of nature for sure!

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.