Anwar's former aide, businessman arrested by Malaysian anti-corruption agency ahead of Sabah state polls
Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin - who resigned as Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s senior political secretary on Nov 25 - and Albert Tei were detained separately on Friday.
Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin (left), who is former senior political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, and businessman Albert Tei. (Photo: Facebook/Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin and Facebook/Albert Tei)
KUALA LUMPUR: A former senior political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and a businessman at the centre of a corruption scandal on mining projects in Sabah were detained by graftbusters on Friday (Nov 28) over bribes purportedly given by the latter.
The arrests by officers from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) came on the eve of crucial state polls in Sabah on Nov 29 - seen as a key test for incumbent Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and parties in Anwar’s federal government.
Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin - who was Anwar’s aide - and Albert Tei were arrested separately on Friday. Another person, purported to be Shamsul’s proxy, was arrested earlier on Thursday night.
MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki, however, refuted claims that his officers pointed a weapon at Tei’s head during the businessman’s arrest on Friday morning.
Tei’s wife claimed to news portal Malaysiakini that MACC officers had pointed a gun at her husband before handcuffing him during his arrest.
“The arrest carried out by MACC officers at the businessman’s residence today was conducted in accordance with established procedures,” said Azam in a statement, adding that a police report has been lodged on Friday to enable the relevant authorities to investigate allegations made against the officers involved.
In another statement shortly after, Azam said that Shamsul - who resigned as Anwar’s senior political secretary on Tuesday - and a woman said to be his proxy were detained at MACC’s office in Putrajaya when they went to give their statements.
Sofia Rini Buyong was detained on Thursday night.
According to Azam, Tei was instructed to appear at MACC headquarters earlier than his scheduled date on Monday but refused to do so and declined to cooperate with investigations.
“As everyone is aware, Albert Tei is the most important individual in assisting with the investigation of this case,” said Azam, adding that Tei was served with a notice that granted the investigating authority the power to deny the accused the right to contact a lawyer or any other party.
He added that the MACC is expected to make a remand application for Tei and Shamsul at the Putrajaya Magistrates’ Court on Saturday morning.
Meanwhile, Sofia has been remanded until Monday.
Azam said that because the case is one of public interest, the MACC conducted an immediate investigation to prevent the issue from being manipulated by certain parties.
He added that the MACC would investigate this case “professionally” and “fairly” according to the rule of law.
“Any party that disputes the detention of these three individuals has the right to challenge it in court. I have instructed my investigation officers to complete the investigation within this week so that it can be submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers for a decision as soon as possible.
“Therefore, I urge all parties to remain patient and not to speculate about this case,” said Azam.
Local media reported on Tuesday that Tei had alleged that he had channelled funds totaling RM629,000 (US$152,215) to Shamsul.
The money was said to have been spent on home renovations, cigars and tailored suits.
Tai's allegations surfaced on Tuesday evening, hours after Shamsul announced his resignation.
Tei had alleged that he spent the RM629,000 after being purportedly assured that he could recoup the money "channelled to politicians in Sabah", news outlet Malaysiakini reported.
The report did not elaborate how the money would allegedly be channelled to politicians in Sabah nor what Tei was seeking exactly.
Malaysiakini added that Tei “has an axe to grind” against GRS - which is part of Anwar’s unity government - over the cancellation of his mineral exploration licences.
On Wednesday evening, Shamsul said in a statement posted on social media that he had made a police report against Tei at 5.05pm while on the election campaign trail in Sabah.
He said that Tei has made “baseless accusations and defamatory allegations” claiming that there were instructions from Anwar to record videos involving several Sabah politicians.
He described the claims as a "malicious conspiracy” to tarnish Anwar's image.
“They also represent a deliberate attempt to undermine the government in an undemocratic manner, particularly during the Sabah election campaign period," said Shamsul, whose statement did not address the allegations surrounding the RM629,000.
Tei has made national headlines recently, after he released covert videos purportedly showing Sabah state lawmakers engaged in alleged bribe negotiations with him for a mining licence.
While he claims to be a whistleblower, Tei has been charged alongside two Sabah state assemblymen with giving and accepting bribes.
Those implicated denied wrongdoing, accusing Tei of releasing the videos out of revenge for not securing government contracts.
Another video of Tei released on Tuesday shows him speaking with a woman, allegedly named Sofia, whom he claimed was Shamsul’s proxy.
In the video, the woman alleged that Anwar himself authorised Tei to record conversations with several Sabah politicians - including state ministers and assemblymen - regarding mineral exploration licenses in Sabah.
The woman also claimed Shamsul had asked Azam to “ease his case”.
Following the release of the video, Sofia admitted to meeting Tei, but denied being Shamsul’s proxy and accused Tei of spreading lies and slander.
“I stress here that I’m not a proxy to Shamsul.
“And I must clarify that I’ve never met or had any discussions with PMX in regard to the allegations made by Albert,” Sofia was quoted as saying by Malaysiakini, referring to the moniker used to describe Anwar.
Separately, Anwar has said that the MACC is free to probe allegations of wrongdoing faced by Shamsul, a former member of parliament for Hang Tuah Jaya.
