KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysians should not speculate on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) seizure of the 60-storey Menara Ilham owned by the family of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar said it was MACC’s duty to investigate, and they must be brave in acting against the corrupt, even if it involved an influential leader.
“Stop making interpretations that there must be a conspiracy whenever we ‘touch’ an influential person.
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“We are not representing a broken system, and our system must show examples of taking brave action against the corrupt.
“Whether or not (the allegations) are true, let the process take place, and the judiciary will decide,” said Anwar after Friday prayers at the Masjid Jamek Kota Damansara mosque on Friday (Dec 22).
Anwar said the MACC should be given space to carry out its duties without fear or favour.
“Otherwise, there will be criticisms where the small fishes are caught, and the big ones are left untouched.
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“So, let investigations be conducted. This is an open secret, where a person has amassed extraordinary wealth.
“Let there be a probe so that leaders will not be seen as protecting the corrupt,” said Anwar.
According to a notice dated Dec 18 by the MACC, the anti-graft agency seized the tower after it found an offence under the MACC Act 2009.
The tower was the meeting point for the Council of Eminent Persons, set up by the Pakatan Harapan government in 2018.
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Daim was the council leader, including former Bank Negara governor Tan Sri Zeti Akhtar Aziz and billionaire Robert Kuok, among others.
Menara Ilham, built at an estimated cost of US$580mil (RM2.7bil), is located in the prime commercial and high-rise residential area around the KLCC.
Singapore-based Channel News Asia (CNA) quoted financial executives close to Daim as saying that the seizure was effected on Thursday (Dec 21) after Daim refused to submit to MACC’s petition to declare his and his family’s financial holdings.
CNA claimed that Daim told MACC officials that he had nothing to do with the Renong-UEM deal, and in early December, the former finance minister was told by MACC that he would no longer receive any extension,
In May this year, MACC said it was gathering information involving the alleged misappropriation of RM2.3bil by a former minister and a businessman.
Sources said the probe was a continuation of the disclosure of confidential documents by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, also known as the Pandora Papers, over transactions carried out at offshore financial centres.
The Pandora Papers refer to millions of leaked documents made public in 2021, which allegedly revealed offshore accounts of present and past leaders worldwide, including presidents, prime ministers, billionaires, and prominent business people.
