KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — DAP’s Lim Lip Eng wants the authorities to disclose the latest status about a police investigation into former attorney-general Tan Sri Apandi Ali in connection with reports lodged against him alleging that he had abused his power while handling the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal.
The incumbent Kepong MP said the police or the Attorney-General’s Chambers have a duty to inform the public of the current status of such cases because they are “matters of vital interest to the nation”.
“Three months ago, the police recorded the statement of Apandi Ali over alleged power abuse in the 1MDB scandal.
“However, up till today we have yet to receive any update about the investigation,” he said in a statement today.
On August 1, police secretary Datuk Noorsiah Mohd Saaduddin confirmed that the Special Investigation Unit had completed recording Apandi’s statement.
Lip Eng said the authorities must confirm if Apandi had lied about the investigations into the SRC International and the 1MDB scandal with the intent to set former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak free from facing prosecution.
The police investigation into Apandi followed a formal complaint filed by incumbent Klang MP Charles Santiago who cited abuse of power and dissatisfaction over the handling of the 1MDB case when the former was AG.
Lip Eng also pointed out that Apandi had sued his colleague Lim Kit Siang for defamation after the senior DAP man publicly demanded in a May 6, 2019 article on his blog that the ex-AG “explain why he aided and abetted in the 1MDB scandal”, and lost.
On May 23, the High Court dismissed Apandi’s defamation lawsuit, after ruling that Kit Siang had proven his defence.
On July 21, High Court judge Datuk Azimah Omar’s 100-page written judgement was made available publicly.
In it, she said Kit Siang was justified in questioning Apandi’s dismissal of the 1MDB case and subsequently exoneration of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of any criminal wrongdoings.
Azimah said the court could not ignore the “glaring peculiarities” of Apandi’s conduct as AG to seek mutual legal assistance from foreign countries during the 1MDB probe.
