MACC abused powers in summoning ex-minister, family, says Waytha

P Waytha Moorthy, the president of the Malaysian Advancement Party, has criticized the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) for seemingly abusing its powers when summoning a former minister and his family to its headquarters. According to Waytha, Section 36 of the MACC Act does not grant the commission the authority to require attendance for serving an asset declaration notice.

This provision is limited to the furnishing of required information, according to Waytha. Waytha emphasized that using a statutory power to demand information to excessively burden citizens, especially a 12-year-old child, is an abuse of enforcement authority. The former human resources minister, M Saravanan, was among those summoned to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya, accompanied by his wife and two children.

Saravanan questioned the decision to summon his 12-year-old son to the MACC headquarters, contending that the notice could have been delivered directly to him as the child's parent, sparing the young boy from the stress and worry. Under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act, an officer with a certain rank can request a relative or associate of an investigation subject to provide a statement under oath or affirmation, particularly if there are reasonable grounds to believe that property is linked to an offence.

Failure to comply with such a notice constitutes an offence. MACC chief Abd Halim Aman stated that the commission would issue notices to Saravanan, his wife, and their three children, requiring them to declare their assets within 30 days, with the possibility of an extension if necessary.