The Royal Malaysian Police was first criticised for being tardy with the investigations over the alleged embezzlement of Majlis Amanah Rakyat (Mara) funds by its top executives over the purchase of a property last Tuesday.
The Australian police reacted within 2 days of The Age news report by raiding the offices and residences of the relevant protagonists in Melbourne. On the other hand, the Malaysian Federal Commercial Crime Investigation Department director, Datuk Seri Mortadza Nazarene, said “We are always ready to help in any way but so far, we have not received any request from Australia. The investigation is being conducted in Melbourne and we can only get involved if local police ask for assistance”.
When the Malaysian police was then accused of failing to take action despite the fact that the crime involved the funds of Malaysian taxpayers entrusted with the Government agency, Mara, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) had the cheek to tell Malaysians that “We see no elements of CBT in this case, so the MACC will conduct the entire investigation” on the 28 June 2015.
This led to further criticism, asking how the Police so suddenly, and so quickly decided that there wasn’t any element of criminal breach of trust, or any other penal code offences in the disgraceful Mara scandal?
I had asked if it was because the Minister in-charge of Mara, Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal declared on 27 June 2015 that the transaction was in accordance to procedure and hence, above board?
However, based on Section 405 of our Penal Code specifically states that “whoever, being in any manner entrusted with property… dishonestly misappropriates, or converts to his own use, that property… commits “criminal breach of trust”.
Clearly in this case, there is a prima facie case of Mara top officials “dishonestly appropriates the money” when they were entrusted to invest funds allocated to Mara by the Government. The misappropriation was carried out via the inflation of the price to acquire a property, Dudley International House in Melbourne.
Yesterday, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar adjusted his statement to say that the police would wait for the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to alert them if there were elements of criminal breach of trust (CBT) in the Majlis Amanah Rakyat’s (Mara) Melbourne property purchase.
“I never say that there was no investigation (being done). I said, at the moment, we do not see any element of CBT in the case… I am sure if there are elements of CBT, MACC will let us know,” he said.
Malaysians are now left to wonder, given the clear significance of the case where millions of ringgit may have been siphoned from a key Government agency like Mara, is it a normal practice for the Royal Malaysian Police to just abdicate their responsibility to another agency?
Can the IGP, in such a cavalier fashion, just dismissed the international scandal by saying that “I’m sure if there are elements of CBT, MACC will let us know”? Malaysians cannot figure out why is the IGP can take such a relaxed attitude towards such sizeable crime and corruption taking place within our government institutions.