KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has some explaining to do as Datuk Mohammad Azlan Abdullah, linked to the investigation into the RM1.6 billion construction of two highway projects, was denied rights to legal representation.
His lawyer Farhan Read claimed that MACC failed to contact him before bringing his client to the Putrajaya magistrates’ court.
“We asked the officer in charge about our client, and why he was brought to the court, but we were told not to speak to our client. No reasons were provided, and we were not informed of the purpose of taking our client to court.
“This is clearly against the basic rights of our client, and the principle and intention of Article 5 of the Federal Constitution, which states that an individual has the right to be represented by a lawyer – more so after the lawyers have been registered to represent the client at court,” he said in a letter to MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki and an investigating officer named Amirul.
Highway concessionaire Prolintas chief executive officer Azlan was one of eight individuals detained by MACC on Tuesday for allegedly soliciting and receiving bribes related to the construction of two highway projects in the Klang Valley worth over RM1.6 billion.
In the letter, Farhan said Azlan was nabbed by MACC at its headquarters in Putrajaya on June 24, after the latter went to give his statement upon request.
He is now in remand for four days, from June 25 to 28.
“We humbly opined that the remand granted under Section 117 of the Criminal Procedure Code was ‘authorisation’ in nature, and not ‘order’ on the detainee.”
On Tuesday, MACC detained eight individuals, including a CEO and two senior executives of a highway concession company.
According to sources, the three suspects from the concession company are two men and one woman, while the company owners consist of five men aged in their 40s and 50s.
Meanwhile, Prolintas confirmed the arrests of its chief executive officer and two senior executives by MACC.
The company said it will fully cooperate and work closely with authorities to assist in the investigation. – June 27, 2024