THE High Court was told today that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) did not deliberately delay the prosecution of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman for almost six months to put pressure on the Muar MP to support a certain leadership.

MACC investigating officer Mohd Syahmeizy Sulong, 37, said the commission’s move to prosecute Syed Saddiq in court on July 22, 2021 – although the consent to prosecute was issued on January 4 the same year – was because it needed to complete the investigation into the politician. 

“There were five investigation papers opened into Syed Saddiq and all the evidence regarding the investigation papers needed to be coordinated to ensure that there was no overlapping evidence. 

“Prosecution could not be done on January 4, 2021, because only one of the five investigation papers had been successfully completed at the time, and it could only be done on July 22, 2021, after all the investigation papers had been completed,” he said during cross-examination by lawyer Gobind Singh Deo at the trial of Syed Saddiq, who is facing four charges of criminal breach of trust and money laundering.

When asked by the lawyer who ordered him to “hold” the prosecution against Syed Saddiq, the 25th prosecution witness replied: “No one instructed me (to do so).”

The MACC senior superintendent also said he had never contacted Syed Saddiq to inform the latter to get ready to go to court over the charges he faced. 

Gobind: I suggest in this case that the officer who often contacted YB Syed Saddiq to inform him that he should get ready to be accused in court was Tuan Ihsan (MACC senior official Mohd Ihsan Sapuan)? 

Syahmeizy: I don’t know. 

Gobind: Tuan Ihsan contacted YB Syed Saddiq about four times to inform him to get ready to be accused, but then he was not accused, to which the witness replied, “I don’t know.”

The witness also disagreed with the lawyer that the action of the MACC officer was to put pressure on Syed Saddiq, and that the politician was finally arrested on July 13, 2021, with the order for him to be brought to court issued by MACC Putrajaya’s Investigative Branch B chief named Abdul Malik. 

Syed Saddiq, 29, is charged as then Bersatu Youth (Armada) chief, who was entrusted with control of its funds, with abetting Rafiq Hakim Razali, Armada’s assistant treasurer at the time, with criminal breach of trust involving RM1 million in funds belonging to the wing at CIMB Bank Bhd, Menara CIMB KL Sentral, Jalan Stesen Sentral 2, in Kuala Lumpur on March 6, 2020. 

For the second charge, Syed Saddiq is alleged to have misused property for himself, namely, RM120,000 from the Maybank Islamic Bhd account belonging to Armada Bumi Bersatu Enterprise, by causing Rafiq Hakim to dispose of the money at Malayan Banking Bhd, Jalan Pandan 3/6A, Taman Pandan Jaya, between April 8 and 21, 2018.

He also faces two counts of engaging in money laundering activities, namely, two transactions of RM50,000 each believed to be proceeds from unlawful activities, from his Maybank Islamic Bhd account into his Amanah Saham Bumiputra account at a bank in Jalan Persisiran Perling, Taman Perling, Johor Baru, on June 16 and 19, 2018.

The hearing before judicial commissioner Azhar Abdul Hamid continues tomorrow. – Bernama, July 21, 2022.