Tasek Gelugor MP Wan Saiful Wan Jan's lawyer has urged the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to justify its decision to investigate the parliamentarian for statements made in the Dewan Rakyat.
The opposition MP recently claimed in the lower house that he had been pressured and threatened into pledging his support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Following this, he was served a notice by the MACC to have his statement recorded by the anti-graft body.
In a letter addressed to a senior enforcement officer of the MACC, law firm Chetan Jethwani argued that Section 7 of the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 grants parliamentary immunity to their client, protecting him from any civil or criminal proceedings arising from statements made in the Dewan Rakyat.
"We respectfully ask that you research MACC’s jurisdictional limits when it comes to investigating statements made by MPs, including our client, in the Dewan Rakyat," the firm's principal, Chetan Jethwani, said in the letter.
"The notice issued to our client is beyond MACC’s jurisdiction and encroaches upon and interferes with the jurisdiction of Parliament, and is tantamount to an insult to the Dewan Rakyat and parliamentarians."
Chetan argued that the Houses of Parliament (Privileges and Powers) Act 1952 was enacted to uphold the separation of powers and the freedom of MPs to speak and debate in Parliament, and that the MACC's actions have violated these principles.
He stated that Wan Saiful would cooperate with the MACC if their actions complied with the law, copying the letter to top MACC officials and Dewan Rakyat Speaker Johari Abdul due to the "serious and severe consequences" the matter could have on Parliament as an institution.
On February 28, Wan Saiful told the Dewan Rakyat that he had been pressured to support Anwar as prime minister in exchange for a constituency allocation. This claim sparked an uproar among government MPs, with calls for him to lodge a report with the MACC.
Deputy speaker Ramli Noor advised Wan Saiful to file a police report immediately, citing Article 63 of the Federal Constitution, which states that statements made in the Dewan Rakyat are not subject to civil and criminal action unless repeated outside of Parliament.
MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki later announced that the MACC would give Wan Saiful one week to lodge a report regarding his claim.
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