Committee finds Wan Saiful bribe claim didn't mislead Dewan Rakyat

Summary

• Parliamentary committee found Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s bribe claims did not mislead Parliament, advised him to report to authorities.

• Wan Saiful shared evidence and named individuals but criticised the lack of transparency in publishing his testimony.

Parliament’s Rights and Privileges Committee found that Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan’s claim of being offered a bribe to support Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim did not mislead the Dewan Rakyat.

In a statement posted to his Facebook page, Wan Saiful said he showed the committee all the evidence he had, which included audio recordings, pictures, and WhatsApp screenshots.

The Perikatan Nasional lawmaker said that in a meeting with the committee on Sept 6, he shared the identities of the individuals who met him over the bribe.

“I am just disappointed that the committee did not release the full Hansard of my almost two hours and 30 minutes speech in the proceedings of the Rights and Privileges Committee.

“If the speech text was released… then all of the evidence will become an official record that all Malaysians can read for themselves,” he said.

RM1.7m offer

On Feb 28, he claimed to the Dewan Rakyat that he was offered an allocation of RM1.7 million for his constituency.

The former Bersatu information chief said he attended meetings with different individuals who tried to persuade him to back Anwar.

The meetings, he claimed, happened four times at different hotels in the Klang Valley between Jan 17 and Feb 26.

He said the individuals also claimed they could make his criminal charges go away as he is currently on trial for 18 charges of money laundering and two charges of corruption, in relation to the Jana Wibawa project.

On June 24, government MPs voted and passed a motion to refer Wan Saiful to the Rights and Privileges Committee, which led to a walkout by the opposition.

Advised to report to authorities

In Wan Saiful’s post, he shared the committee’s report, which recommended that he make an official report on the matter to an enforcement authority such as the Royal Malaysia Police, MACC, or Malaysian Communications And Multimedia Commission (MCMC).

It said the case lacked prima facie evidence while recommending that Wan Saiful not speak further on the matter to preserve the interests of parties involved.

“I spoke the truth. I will never betray the struggle even when pressured and threatened with various actions by those who are oppressive or tried to bribe me with various rewards,” he added.

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