KUALA LUMPUR, March 5 — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has dismissed allegations by former minister Rafizi Ramli’s former aide Chai Jin Shern, also known as James Chai, that he was a victim of enforcement action by MACC.
MACC said Chai’s claims are inaccurate, misleading, and give the public a false impression regarding the investigative procedures carried out by the commission.
“The allegation that the (MACC) press conference was held solely to target Chai is entirely untrue and baseless.
“The press conference referred to was MACC’s regular monthly media briefing held periodically to inform members of the media on developments relating to several ongoing investigations,” it said in a statement yesterday.
Among the cases mentioned were Op Middlemen, the illegal e-waste case involving investigations into the Department of Environment, Op Heart, investigations involving IJM, as well as Op Godfather relating to the case involving Toh Puan Nai’mah Ab Khalid, her family members and associates.
The statement said the issuance of a Notice to Trace (or track down) an Individual/Witness to Assist Investigation is a standard investigative procedure used by MACC and other enforcement agencies.
Such a notice is only issued after various efforts to contact the individual concerned have failed, including through telephone calls, visits to the last known address, or other reasonable means, it said.
“It must be emphasised that a Notice to Trace does not constitute a criminal accusation, nor does it imply that the individual concerned has committed any offence. It is merely a step taken to locate individuals required to assist in an investigation.
“In this investigation, 12 individuals including a federal minister have already been called in and all have cooperated with MACC. If Chai has nothing to hide, he should present himself and cooperate with the investigation,” it said.
It said that before the Notice to Trace was issued, the investigating officer had made several attempts to contact Chai, who was believed to be in the United Kingdom, including via WhatsApp starting February 24, but received no response.
“After several attempts to contact him without response, the investigating officer’s number was eventually blocked by Chai’s telephone number on February 26.
“The claim that MACC did not attempt to contact him before issuing the notice is completely untrue. Attempts to portray normal investigative procedures as acts of persecution against an individual are unwarranted and made in bad faith,” the statement added.
MACC stressed that no one is above the law and that professional, evidence-based investigations will continue, while reminding individuals called to assist in investigations to extend full cooperation and not evade authorities or create misleading public narratives.
