PUTRAJAYA: Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor will be called in by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over the rare earth elements (REE) mineral theft issue soon.
MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said the Pas politician would be called in within these two weeks.
He said the graftbuster's probe into the REE issue was ongoing and investigations were almost completed.
"Everyone is asking when we will charge but my investigating officer has to cover everything including interviewing the witnesses and others.
"Among the things that we have to look into is the people in power who approved the mining.
"If I'm not mistaken, it's not the state's power. It is a federal power. In terms of state and federal we need to look into how they are managing it, how the state government proposes it to the federal government for approval and the policies of the federal government. We need to look into all these matters," he said.
He added they were also looking into Chinese national So Loi Fatt who came into Malaysia allegedly in connection with the REE theft.
"We take that into account in our investigation as to why they came into Malaysia and where they came from. Are they really here in Malaysia for exploring or did they come here for illegal mining?
"We also have to check on what the authorities are doing. Were they sleeping?" he said.
He added that MACC also had to be fair to Sanusi and check all the claims including a video footage of him allegedly coming out from the scene of the crime which implicated that he was involved in the theft.
"We need to check that - if it's true, then that's fine. What if that's not true? That is the duty of the investigators to look into all these matters," he said.
He added that MACC had used its discretionary power not to call Sanusi during the state election campaign period.
On July 18, MACC initiated an investigation into the alleged misuse of authority by Sanusi in regards to REE mining, which is believed to have been conducted illegally and resulted in losses to the state government.
Several investigation papers had been opened under Section 17 (A) and Section 23 of the Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009 and they would also look into Section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988.