MACC dismisses claims by Rafizi's ex-aide, says efforts were made to contact him

KUALA LUMPUR: Graft busters have dismissed claims made by former special functions officer to ex-economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Chai Jin Shern (James Chai), in a statement Wednesday (March 4). Read full story KUALA LUMPUR: Graft busters have dismissed claims made by former special functions officer to ex-economy minister Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, Chai Jin Shern (James Chai), in a statement Wednesday (March 4).The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) says it views Chai's statement seriously as several claims were inaccurate, misleading, and give the public a false impression regarding the investigative procedures the Commission carried out."The press conference he referred to was MACC’s regular monthly media briefing held periodically to inform members of the media on developments relating to several ongoing investigations."Among the cases mentioned were Ops Middlemen, Ops Heart and Ops Godfather."Therefore, the allegation that the press conference was held solely to target Chai is entirely untrue and baseless," the commission said in a statement Wednesday.The MACC said issuing a Notice to Trace (or track down) an Individual/Witness to Assist Investigation is a standard investigative procedure used by commission 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 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," it added.In this investigation, 12 individuals, including a 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."We issue between two to five Notices to Trace individuals on average every week, depending on the requirements of ongoing investigations," it added.MACC investigating officers made several attempts to contact Chai, who was traced to be in Britain, before the notice was issued."Beginning Feb 24, the investigating officer attempted to contact him via WhatsApp using two telephone numbers known to belong to him, but no response was received."After several attempts to contact him without response, the investigating officer’s number was eventually blocked by one of Chai’s telephone numbers on Feb 26."Therefore, the claim that MACC did not attempt to contact him before issuing the notice is completely untrue," the MACC said.Attempts to portray normal investigative procedures as acts of persecution against an individual are unwarranted and made in bad faith, the MACC stressed."Such narratives not only mislead the public but may also undermine public confidence in legitimate law enforcement processes, particularly while investigations are still ongoing," it said.MACC reiterated that it strictly adhered to the principle of “presumption of innocence”, meaning that a person is considered innocent until proven otherwise."Therefore, being called to assist in an investigation does not mean that the person is guilty or has committed an offence."No one is above the law. The investigation will continue to be conducted professionally and based on evidence, and any individual called to assist in an investigation should provide full cooperation to the authorities rather than evade the process or deliberately create misleading public narratives," it said. Related stories:Rafizi's ex-aide denies being in hiding, says MACC never contacted him directlyMACC tracking down Rafizi's ex-aide Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates! Tags / Keywords: MACC , James Chai , Claims , Inaccurate , Dismiss , Normal , Investigative Process Report a mistake What is the issue about? Spelling and grammatical error Factually incorrect Story is irrelevant This field is mandatory. Please provide details of the report. Email (optional) Please enter valid email. Report issue Cancel Invalid captcha response. Please re-try again. Thank you for your report! Related News Nation 5h ago Apex court upholds 40-year jail term, caning for man who murdered mother Nation 6h ago Federal Court to hear two questions of law from Na'imah Japan 7h ago US court convicts Japanese yakuza for trafficking nuclear material