KUALA LUMPUR: Police have confirmed that they have recorded a statement from former Umno supreme council member Isham Jalil at the Putrajaya district police headquarters today (Oct 8), reports said.
According to the report published by Sinar Harian, this is to facilitate police investigation into a statement made by Isham urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to sue Bloomberg over the financial daily's report on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) investigation.
Putrajaya district police chief, Assistant Commissioner Aidi Sham Mohamed told the Malay daily that Isham arrived at the police headquarters at about 3pm.
"His statement was recorded at the Criminal Investigation Division for an investigation under Section 500 and Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998," he said.
In a Facebook post, Isham said that the report could suggest that Anwar's efforts to combat corruption are mere rhetoric and that he is not practicing what he preaches.
Isham also said it would be a serious defamation if the claims made by Bloomberg in its report were false.
Bloomberg reported that Anwar had allegedly instructed the MACC not to investigate his former political secretary, Farhash Wafa Salvador, over the controversial purchase of shares in a company connected to the development of a new billion-ringgit immigration system, citing three sources said to be familiar with the matter.
The financial daily also reported that MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki had allegedly told his officials that investigations into former leader Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, his three sons, and former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin were launched on Anwar's instructions.
In response, the Prime Minister's Office refuted both reports, stating that Anwar had never issued any directive or interfered in investigations conducted by MACC.
MACC also denied allegations that it had received external directives to halt investigations into specific people.
Azam recently had said that MACC does not take instructions from anyone, including the prime minister, when conducting investigations into individuals.
He had also said that every investigation followed standard operating procedures and was carried out in accordance with the law.