PUTRAJAYA: Unity government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil refused to comment further on the RM700 million spent by the previous federal administration on promotion and publicity work.
"I cannot (comment) because I am not from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"We will give space for MACC to conduct the investigation process. Personally, I cannot offer more comments than that," he said when asked about the case which is being investigated by the MACC.
When asked whether the Communication Ministry will be investigated, Fahmi said the ministry is ready to cooperate with MACC if they deem it necessary.
"So far, there is no information related to that issue.
"However, for investigative bodies, if they believe there is a necessity, it is within their right to conduct an investigation," he added.
Yesterday, MACC said it has teams scouring the Finance Ministry and Prime Minister's Department for documents linked to the previous administration's spending for the "Keluarga Malaysia" promotion campaign under the previous federal administration.
Sources told the New Straits Times that the graftbuster has sent two teams — one to the ministry and the other to the department — to study and pool all the related documents regarding the campaign.
The graftbuster has sent two teams — one to the ministry and the other to the department — to study and pool all the related documents regarding the campaign.
As of now, no arrest were made, the source had told the NST.
MACC Senior Director of Investigations Datuk Seri Hishamuddin Hashim had also confirmed to the media yesterday that investigation were being done.
The commission said it was taking proactive action to conduct an investigation following the disclosure of the utilisation of RM700 million, recently.
On Dec 30, Umno communications director Datuk Lokman Noor Adam lodged a police report over alleged misuse of funds by two federal administrations amounting to RM700 million for publicity campaigns and advertising from 2020 to 2022.
On Monday, it was reported that MACC was set to summon a former prime minister and two aides as part of its investigation into three separate cases involving alleged misappropriation of funds.
The aides were associated with two different former prime ministers.
The investigations will delve into the wealth supposedly amassed by the wife and children of one of the former leaders, a petroleum company's activities, and expenditures related to advertising.
Prior to that, it was also reported that a member of parliament from an east coast state and his aide were also expected to be summoned to assist in an investigation under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla) and the MACC Act 2009.
One of these individuals had allegedly awarded public-funded projects during his tenure.