.jpg)
By Mihar Dias (C) Copyright June 2023
Law minister Azalina Othman Said says MACC was only able to uncover general information but has not been able to confirm alleged claims that Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties received funds from the proceeds of gambling during run-up to recent General Election. This investigation was initiated when Anwar, the Tambun MP, made a suggestion on Dec 5 that gambling funds could have found their way into PN's coffers in the last general election.
Anwar was quoted back then as saying, "Certainly, the funds would have been used to finance elections but need to check on that."
PN later stated that the claims weren't "defamatory" and was considering legal action against PMX.
Latest press report by Law Minister says that MACC has not been able to confirm claims that parties in Perikatan Nasional (PN) received funds from the proceeds of gambling as alleged in her reply to Pasir Mas MP Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, saying the anti-graft agency had carried out a detailed investigation into the claims, made by PMX after he chaired his first Cabinet meeting last December.
"However, MACC found that the information at hand was too general and that no party could confirm the issue. Therefore, no investigation file was opened on this matter," she said.
In response to Azalina's statement, PN's Chairman, Muhyiddin Yassin has demanded an apology from PMX and his deputy Zahid Hamidi over their allegations that the coalition had received funds from gambling companies for the GE15 campaign. He added that PN would consult with their legal team regarding further actions.
"We demand that they apologise. These are serious allegẁations and defamation. "We will see what steps they take afterwards."
Here's an obvious consequence of allegations made without adequate investigation. Euphoric after assuming office PMX must have been a little hasty in making the allegations against PN.
Another legal suit might just land on his desk before too long.
Anyway, first, let's see how PMX handles the demand for apology over the gambling funds from Muhyiddin.
Meanwhile, Hamzah, Bersatu Secretary General, says this was proof that it was "mere fabrication and lies."
"Just as he (Anwar) shamelessly lied to the people through promises that were not fulfilled, such as the promise to lower the price of oil, to solve the cost of living, to fight nepotism, and to fight corruption, but then appointed a deputy prime minister against whom a prima facie case has been established and who is defending himself against 47 charges in court," Hamzah said, referring to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who had been instrumental in rallying the support of his party for Anwar as prime minister.
This new development is another case of trying to discredit the opponent just to win votes from supporters. Even KJ could not resist commenting on the missteps of PMX, as shown in the video.
We'll have to wait and see what happens next in state elections whether the above other allegations against the opposition lead to results that might favour the government led by PH.
Mihar Dias is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
The User Content (as defined on Newswav Terms of Use) above including the views expressed and media (pictures, videos, citations etc) were submitted & posted by the author. Newswav is solely an aggregation platform that hosts the User Content. If you have any questions about the content, copyright or other issues of the work, please contact Newswav.
