Daim's wife seeks IPCC probe over alleged police inaction

New Straits Times

7 hours ago

PUTRAJAYA: Toh Puan Na'imah Abdul Khalid, the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin, has urged the Independent Police Conduct Commission (IPCC) to investigate a report alleging 'abuse of power at the highest levels of government, following delays in police action'.
This follows a Bloomberg report last year which, citing sources, claimed that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was instructed to investigate Daim, as well as former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his sons.
Na'imah said that despite lodging a police report on the matter nine months ago, no investigation officer (IO) had been assigned to the case.
"In September last year, there was a report by Bloomberg stating that they had information that the prime minister had given instructions to the MACC to investigate my late husband, Tun Dr Mahathir, as well as our families.
"Soon after, I made a police report because if the contents of the article are true, then it means there was an abuse of power by the prime minister, which is an offence.
"However, no investigation has been done, and there has been no follow-up at all until today.
"We also do not even know who the IO is for this report, which is why I came to the IPCC to find out why the police have not taken any action," she said at a press conference today after lodging a complaint with the IPCC.
She was accompanied by her lawyers Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh.
Asked whether she was given a timeline for the investigation to take place by the IPCC, Na'imah said she was informed that it would take two to three weeks.
Last year, a Bloomberg report, citing sources, claimed that the MACC was instructed to investigate Daim as well as former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his sons.
According to the report, the instruction was purportedly given by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, a claim the Prime Minister's Office denied.
Anwar also said the government was considering legal action against Bloomberg over the report that MACC acted on his instructions during investigations into certain individuals.
MACC also denied receiving directives on its investigation and said all enforcement actions were taken "without fear or favour" and interference from any party.
Following the report, Na'imah then lodged a police report alleging abuse of power at the highest levels of government.
Meanwhile, Na'imah also called for a task force or special commission, similar to those formed in previous high-profile cases such as 1MDB, to be established for the investigation.
"There should be a commission or something similar to when they handled the 1MDB investigation.
"If you are going to investigate something as serious as an allegation of abuse of power, it needs to be brought to a higher level, perhaps through a task force or special committee.
"As such, I hope the IPCC will investigate my report without fear or favour and find out why no action has been taken so far," she said.