An anti-graft probe into an offer to sponsor Kelantan Menteri Besar Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat for haj and umrah trips can still be reopened, despite the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) having cleared him in the matter.
"If prosecution of a case has been deemed unnecessary, the (commission’s) Operations Review Panel reserves the right to re-evaluate the case and if need be, can refer it for prosecution," de facto law minister Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz told the Dewan Rakyat during Question Time today.
However, since Nik Aziz did not take up the sponsorship offer, Nazri said, he personally believes any prosecution should be against the party that made the offer .
He was replying to Ismail Mohamed Said’s (BN-Kuala Krau) supplementary question on whether the MACC panel has power to decide if the case against Nik Aziz can be reopened and prosecuted.
Nik Aziz had previously said he was not aware that to accept the offer would be an offence as he had not been advised on this by the Kelantan legal adviser.
Replying to Gobind Singh Deo (DAP-Puchong) earlier, Nazi said if cases were being intentionally “delayed” or “silenced” by the prosecution, they could still be referred to the panel for review and action taken if such allegations were found to be true, including referring such cases back for prosecution.
Gobind had asked about concerns that certain cases were being withheld from prosecution by the Attorney-General’s Chambers, which has sole authority on whether or not cases investigated by the MACC will see prosecution in court.