Witness: MACC admitted there was no case against Rosli

KUALA LUMPUR: A prominent businessman told the Kuala Lumpur High Court yesterday that the criminal case against lawyer Rosli Dahlan proceeded at the insistence of Attorney-General Gani Patail despite the fact that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) had concluded that there was no case to pursue against him.

Robert Phang Miow Sin, chairman of P&I Properties Sdn Bhd, was testifying in the on-going trial in which Rosli is suing the MACC, its officers and the Government of Malaysia for wrongful arrest, false imprisonment and a conspiracy to injure his reputation.

The case is being heard before Justice Su Geok Yam.

Yesterday, FMT reported Rosli’s own testimony to the effect that he had been collateral damage in the effort to eliminate former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department (CCID) director Ramli Yussoff, who was his client and friend.

Phang testified that he had served as a member of the Corruption Prevention and Consultative Panel of the MACC between February 2009 and January 2011.

He had in that capacity received from Rosli a letter containing representations as to why criminal charges preferred against him ought to be withdrawn.

Phang said that he raised the matter with Abu Kassim Mohamed, the current MACC Chief Commissioner, at one of the Panel meetings.

“[Abu Kassim] said to the meeting that as far as MACC was concerned, they had concluded that there was no case against Rosli,” Phang’s Witness Statement read.

“I questioned him as to why the MACC was still proceeding with the matter.”

His response was that the Attorney-General was insisting on proceeding, Phang statement went on.

“I was very surprised at the answer,” Phang’s testimony read. “I was actually so taken aback by his answer that I instinctively asked him how he could maintain that the MACC was independent if this [was] how they were acting.”

Phang said that over lunch that day, he queried Abu Kassim again but received the same response.

Under cross-examination by MACC’s counsel Cecil Abraham, Phang maintained that the matter was discussed at the meeting despite the fact that it may not have been properly recorded in the minutes of meetings.

“To the best of my knowledge, it was discussed,” he said.

Denying emphatically suggestions by Abraham that he had been asked to resign by the panel over an allegation of bribery of a senior government official, Phang said, “I volunteered to resign as a panel member because I strongly believe in quitting to preserve integrity.”

“Abu Kassim asked me to stay and let the investigation proceed but I refused to do so,” he added.
He testified that he was cleared by MACC of the allegations some time in 2012.



Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/04/10/witness-macc-admitted-there-was-no-case-against-rosli/