After 9 years, cops finally return laptop to Mkini

Police have finally returned a laptop that was seized from a Malaysiakini journalist nearly nine years ago amid the 1MDB scandal.

The police contacted Malaysiakini on Thursday (Sept 26) to arrange the return, which took place at the Putrajaya police district headquarters this morning.

It is unclear what prompted the laptop’s belated return, along with the laptop’s charger, a USB thumb drive, and some documents seized during the raid that took place on Nov 9, 2015, at Malaysiakini’s office in Petaling Jaya.

The raid was the second of two against the news portal over its report on Nov 2 that year, which stated that MACC deputy public prosecutor Ahmad Shazalee Abdul Khairi was being transferred.

Shazalee was part of the team probing claims that funds flowed from former 1MDB subsidiary SRC International into then-prime minister Najib Abdul Razak’s personal bank account.

Apandi’s denial

The laptop returned today had been used to write up then attorney-general Apandi Ali’s denial against Malaysiakini’s report. He denied that Shazalee was transferred out of MACC, though Malaysiakini’s report did not specify this.

Two days after Apandi’s denial, the de facto law minister at the time, Nancy Shukri, said Shazalee had been promoted to a position in the Judicial and Legal Services Commission.

She said he remained attached to the MACC, though he no longer works for the special operations division that was following the 1MDB money trail.

The move had come amid a slew of actions widely seen as disruptive to the MACC’s investigation into 1MDB and related entities.

Probe under CMA, Penal Code

The investigation against Malaysiakini was conducted under Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for abuse of network facilities, and Section 500 of the Penal Code for criminal defamation.

Several Malaysiakini staff members were questioned as part of the investigation, including Stevan Gan who was editor-in-chief at the time. They refused to divulge the identity of its sources.

Despite Apandi telling Malaysiakini at the time he will “see Malaysiakini in court”, no charges were brought against the news portal or its staff in relation to the report.

Apart from the raid on Nov 9, 2015, the police and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) also raided Malaysiakini over the same report several days earlier on Nov 6. Another computer had been seized during the raid.

Authorities had also visited The Star’s office and questioned its journalist over a similar report.

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