A PKR lawyer has slammed the anti-graft agency for its liberal use of arrests and remand procedures in breach of legal norms, adding that the arrest of Parti Warisan Sabah president Shafie Apdal was done without basis.

N. Surendran said the former rural and regional development minister is not a flight risk and neither is there any suggestion that he will interfere with other witnesses in the ongoing probe by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission into alleged embezzlement of funds by the ministry in Sabah.

“Under the law, arrest and remand to facilitate investigations should be the exception, not the norm. 

“This legal position applies to all criminal investigations into all types of offences, with the exception of suspects who are a flight risk or where it is believed the suspect could interfere with witnesses.

“In other words, the legal burden is upon the arresting authority to show why they cannot investigate without resorting to arrest and remand,” Surendran said in a statement today.

He said MACC has the right and duty to carry out an investigation but arrests and remands should only be resorted to in very limited circumstances when absolutely necessary.

“In breach of this basic legal principle, the MACC seems to have resorted to automatic arrest and remand. These arrests are now being routinely carried out under the glare of television and news cameras,” the Padang Serai MP added.

Surendran said Shafie had gone to the MACC office voluntarily and repeatedly said he will fully cooperate with the authority.

“Therefore, what is the legal basis for his arrest?

“It cannot be overemphasised that the idea that enforcement bodies must arrest in order to carry out an investigation, is plainly wrong,” he said, adding that an individual’s liberty is protected by Article 5 of the federal constitution.

Surendran also asked MACC to release Shafie and other detainees as they will be available for interviews when necessary. – October 20, 2017.