Blackmailed And Stalked, New MACC Chief Recounts Ordeal For Probing 1MDB
In 2016, he went on mandatory retirement in the midst of the investigation.
By Jia Vern Tham — 22 May 2018, 07:24 PM
Earlier today, 22 May, the new Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdull uncovered the trauma he endured during the 2015 probe into the scandal-ridden 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB)
Shukri, who led the first investigation into 1MDB back in 2015, delivered an emotional account today on how he was threatened during the probe.
"I was threatened to be fired, asked to retire early, take leave early, and pulled into the training department," Shukri was quoted as saying by The Guardian.
He also alleged that he was threatened over WhatsApp, and received a bullet through the mail.
This happened as his ex-superior, Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamed decided to indict former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak over the case
Shukri quoted Abu Kassim as asking him in 2015 if he was ready to charge a sitting prime minister.
"I said 'no problem', because I was willing to do it for the country," Shukri said.
Nonetheless, former Attorney-General Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail was removed on the same day Abu Kassim had planned to indict Najib.
According to Shukri, intelligence sources at the time revealed that he would be arrested and sent to jail
"We had our own intelligence sources, that I would be arrested and locked up because I was accused of being part of a conspiracy to bring down the government," Shukri recalled, as he nearly broke down into tears.
He added that he wanted to recover funds stolen from Malaysia but was perceived as a traitor instead.
"We were accused of bringing down the country, we were accused of being traitors," he added.
He went on to admit to spreading lies that he was boarding a plane to Saudi Arabia, when he was actually fleeing to the United States.
"There were people waiting to arrest me in Jeddah if I had landed there," he said.
In Washington DC, Shukri felt unsafe after realising that he was followed by someone
"I noticed someone was following me, my team in the United States took pictures of the man who followed me," he said.
He then went to New York and received protection from the New York Police Department (NYPD) for a week.
"I got protection from the NYPD and they supplied me with three bodyguards," he said.
Following Shukri's recount of the ordeal, police announced that authorities will look into his claims if a report has been lodged
According to Malay Mail, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Tan Sri Mohamad Fuzi Harun said today that he is willing to investigate Shukri's claims of being threatened and harassed.
"I wasn't aware because I was not (the IGP) then but I will look into it," he was quoted as saying by Malay Mail.
Minister of Home Affairs Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin also told a press conference today that action will be taken if a report has been lodged.
"If there is a report then the authorities will have to look (and) investigate," he said.