PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should focus on investigating “suspicious activities” involving foreign worker agents and immigration staff reported by the media instead of arresting a journalist for alleged bribery, said PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan.
In a statement, today, Takiyuddin said smuggling foreign workers into the country could be more harmful to the nation’s security and economy in comparison to the journalist who allegedly solicited and received bribes.
He pointed out that the graft busting agency had previously nabbed 37 enforcement officers at Kuala Lumpur International Airport in September 2024 for allegedly colluding with and accepting bribes from syndicates said to have smuggled foreign nationals into Malaysia.
Takiyuddin questioned the anti-graft commission’s move to arrest the journalist based “solely” on a report from a foreign worker agent claiming he solicited a bribe amounting to RM20,000 from him, calling the arrest “unusual”.
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“If the allegation of criminal extortion by the journalist is true, shouldn’t the matter be reported to the police for investigation under the Penal Code, rather than being acted upon under the MACC Act?” said the former law minister.
He added that the arrest could cause MACC to be perceived in a negative light, in terms of its “professionalism and the transparency of its actions” and could be seen as an attempt to silence the journalist and media involved.
The journalist reportedly wrote about a Pakistani cartel allegedly smuggling foreign labourers into Malaysia.
“Such actions may also be viewed as contrary to the role of journalists and the media as a core institution of democracy, upholding freedom of speech and public accountability,” he added.
On Saturday (March 1), it was reported that MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki denied the journalist’s arrest being due to any news report written by him.
According to a source, preliminary investigations revealed that the journalist allegedly asked for RM100,000 initially but after negotiations, he agreed to accept an “advance” sum of around RM20,000.
