'Speculation in media will deny Taib fair chance'

GRAFT PROBE: Public urged to let MACC do its job

KUALA LUMPUR: THERE should not be any trial by media in the graft investigations involving Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud as this would only pave the way to unnecessary conclusions among the public, says Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission advisory committee member Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas.

He said the basic principle of law that a person was innocent until proven guilty should be applied in the probe, just as in any other case.

"Widespread perception of guilt prior to a court decision will deny Taib Mahmud a fair chance to defend himself.

"Therefore, people should allow the MACC to do its job without any interference," he said when asked to comment on Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) former secretary-general Josie Fernandez's statement that the MACC should update the public on its probe into Taib's case.

Megat Najmuddin said it would be difficult for the MACC to make public its investigations as it was a "huge investigation".

"The MACC cannot give away everything about the case by updating the public. There is a fine balance between what can and cannot be said to the people."

He said the case would take time as it required MACC to conduct investigations overseas.

However, Asian Strategic and Leadership Institute's centre of public policy studies chairman Tan Sri Ramon Navaratnam believed the public should be kept in the loop concerning the investigation.

"This has been a thorny issue for many years and the people have the impression that the commission is only interested in 'small fishes' and not 'big fishes'.

"Now is the time for both the government and MACC to show that it means business. Otherwise, it will get into trouble on issues concerning public perception, integrity, transparency and the will to combat corruption,"  said Navaratnam, who is also the former MACC Corruption Prevention Panel chairman.

MACC announced on Saturday the setting up of a multi-agency task force to investigate graft allegations against Taib.

The Attorney-General's Chambers is part of the task force.

In dismissing doubts on its efficiency, particularly in dealing with corruption allegations against the 77-year-old politician, MACC said it had recorded statements from 20 people and examined 400 files in its investigations.

It also said the probe had started before a video, which implicated Taib in corrupt dealings, was posted on the Internet.

However, it added that an additional team of 10 investigators was formed after the video went viral.