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Mayor expresses shock over arrest of senior City Hall officer
Published:  Aug 17, 2016 9:54 AM
Updated: 3:58 AM

Kuala Lumpur mayor Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz has expressed shock over the arrest of a high-ranking Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) officer by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

“I am shocked. I had no idea about it until Monday,” Amin Nordin was quoted by English daily The Star as saying.

Expressing sadness over the incident, the mayor said he had always stressed to his staff the importance of living clean and within their means.

The senior officer, who holds a ‘Datuk Seri’ title, was purportedly being investigated for projects he was involved with in his previous position, in which he dealt with planning and development, the mayor confirmed.

“DBKL will cooperate fully with MACC on this. It is definitely a black mark in our history as it is the first time it involves a high-ranking officer,” Amin Nordin said.

DBKL’s integrity unit, set up in March 2008, was established as part of an effort to combat corruption.

As such, every civil servant is required to declare his or her assets every year, together with their bank accounts and house details to show that they are living within their means.

“I tell them daily not to go overboard with unnecessary claims, to be transparent and honest,” Amin Nordin said.

DBKL staff also in disbelief

Apart from the mayor, others at DBKL have also expressed disbelief over the senior officer’s arrest.

The man was said to be a man of few words and was also known as the ‘numbers guy’, coming from an accounting background.

The 54-year-old was among three senior government officers who were yesterday remanded in Malacca, Putrajaya and Kota Baru respectively following the seizure of assets worth millions of ringgit in raids by the MACC.

They will be remanded until Aug 22 to assist with investigations under Section 17(a) and Section 23 of the MACC Act for soliciting bribes.

The ‘Datuk Seri’ was arrested at his office in the DBKL building in Kuala Lumpur at 3.07pm on Monday, Bernama reported.

"His house was also searched and a BMW car seized, as well as documents from his office and house," his lawyer, Azizzul Shariman Mat Yusoff, said.

Announcing the arrests on Monday, the MACC said it froze the trio’s bank accounts, which contained RM13 million, luxury real estate including a penthouse and a bungalow, and seized a Maserati, BMW and Audi cars.

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