KUALA LUMPUR – Former Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil is under investigation for suspected criminal defamation over his remark urging Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to take action against Bloomberg for an article alleging interference in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
Isham’s lawyer, Muhammad Hariz Md Yusoff, confirmed with Scoop that his client is being probed under Section 500 of the Penal Code on defamation and Section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 for improper use of network facilities.
Noting that Isham’s handphone was confiscated today during questioning at the Putrajaya district police headquarters, Hariz said that the investigation against Isham was initiated after complaints were lodged against his comments.
However, the lawyer said it is not currently known how many police reports were filed against Isham’s remarks, which he had published in a Facebook post on September 26.
The questioning ended after about two hours. Isham was accompanied by Hariz and fellow lawyer Noor Syazwani Mohamad Yusri.
Hariz said that Isham had provided his full cooperation to authorities during the questioning, highlighting that his client had merely referenced Bloomberg’s report in his social media post.
“We will leave it to the police to conduct their investigations fairly and transparently pending any further action,” he added.
Earlier today, Isham said that he was summoned by police for his statement to be taken regarding his suggestion for the prime minister to initiate legal action against Bloomberg as its report detailed serious accusations with far-reaching implications.
“If (the report) is untrue, it would be very embarrassing for the prime minister and undermines public and investor confidence in his commitment to combating corruption (and) would amount to slander,” Isham said in a Facebook post.
He added that besides Anwar, the Attorney-General’s Chambers could also pursue legal action against Bloomberg, stressing that the government’s reputation has been negatively impacted by allegations detailed in the international news agency’s report.
“In this case, it would be weird if action is taken against the person who called for Bloomberg to be sued while Bloomberg manages to get away. This is not good and should be avoided.”
On September 26, Bloomberg published an article with sources claiming that MACC had been investigating Anwar’s “adversaries” while not probing the “share purchases by one of the prime minister’s allies”.
The US-headquartered media company named former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and ex-finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin as well as their family members as among those MACC was investigating, supposedly on Anwar’s behest.
It also named Anwar’s former political secretary Datuk Farhash Wafa Salvador as the person involved in share purchases in HeiTech Padu Bhd in March. The report claimed that the anti-graft agency was told not to investigate Farhash’s share purchases.
For the record, as of April, Farhash was no longer a substantial shareholder in the company.
Bloomberg had also included MACC’s response to its request for comments in its article. In its response, the anti-graft agency said it firmly refutes claims regarding any instructions from the prime minister influencing or obstructing specific investigations.
The day after the article was published, MACC issued a statement reiterating its position, adding: “The (report) is inaccurate and there is no credibility to the claims made against the commission.”
The Prime Minister’s Office has also denied the claims published in the report. – October 8, 2024