KUALA LUMPUR — Tasek Gelugor MP Datuk Wan Saiful Wan Jan did not mislead the Dewan Rakyat when he said he had been offered inducements to support the unity government, a parliamentary committee headed by Speaker Tan Sri Johari Abdul has ruled.
The Rights and Privileges Committee instead urged him to lodge a report with enforcement agencies, after finding his statements made in the lower House in February and March this year to be backed by evidence.
The committee, in its report dated Dec 12 on its inquiry into whether Wan Saiful had misled the Dewan Rakyat, said it studied evidence in the form of audio recordings, screenshots of WhatsApp messages and photos submitted by Wan Saiful.
After hearing his testimony , and based on the evidence tendered, the committee said it found that his statements in the Dewan Rakyat did not fulfil the criteria of being misleading.
“The committee finds that the evidence shows that there was a meeting as claimed by Tasek Gelugor, including offers made to drop his charges, provide other benefits, finance the cost of his wife’s medical treatment, legal fees, parliamentary allocations, and allocations for public projects
“The evidence given by Tasek Gelugor may involve criminal elements that require further investigation by the relevant authorities.
“As such, the committee recommends that Tasek Gelugor lodge a formal report with the police, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission, which have the authority and the resources to investigate this matter,” the committee said.
Wan Saiful was referred to the committee following his remarks in the Dewan Rakyat on February 28 and March 21, and gave evidence on Sept 6 at the committee’s first session. It also met a second time on Dec 6.
He had revealed in parliament that two MPs had approached him with lucrative offers to back Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, including a RM2 million parliamentary allocation, coverage of his wife’s medical expenses, finances for his ongoing legal case, and the possibility of having charges against him dropped.
He is currently facing trial for bribery and money laundering related to helping a company secure a project under the Jana Wibawa scheme.
The parliamentary committee, which also looked into whether his statements made in the lower House would jeopardise the interest of parties in related court proceedings, said this was for the court to decide.
Besides Johari as committee chairman, other members are Kalabakan MP Datuk Andi Muhammad Suryady Bandy, Hulu Langat MP Mohd Sany Hamzan, Lawas MP Datuk Henry Sum Agong, Tg Piai MP Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng, Putrajaya MP Datuk Mohd Radzi Jidin and Bagan Seri MP Datuk Idris Ahmad.
In a statement to Scoop on the committee’s ruling, Wan Saiful welcomed its decision but was “only upset” that it did not release the full transcript of his testimony during the inquiry so that the public would know “all the evidence”.
He said he had spoken for almost 2 hours and 30 minutes before the committee on Sept 6, and the full text of his testimony would have made “all the evidence an official record for all Malaysians to read for themselves”.
“The people will judge those who abuse their power and position to buy support,” the Bersatu supreme council member said.
He added that he had shared the identities of the individuals who met him with the committee, but did not name them in his press statement.
The two MPs who had referred Wan Saiful to the rights and privileges committee for misleading the Dewan Rakyat were Tanjung Karang MP Datuk Zulkafperi Hanapi and Gua Musang MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim, who had switched support from the opposition to Anwar’s government.
The two are among five “rogue” Bersatu MPs that the party is suing for switching support without leaving the party.
Bersatu is also suing Johari for refusing to vacate those seats to allow by-elections. – December 18, 2024