Asking a minister to go on leave must be based on facts, evidence, says watchdog

SHAH ALAM - The decision to grant leave to a minister or any other individual must be based on facts, authentic evidence, and consideration towards justice principles and equality, said a watchdog.

Malaysian Corruption Watch (MCW) president Jais Abdul Karim said the push to provide leave for ministers when their senior officers are being investigated by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is not a normal practice in the country, and there are no special laws that allow it.

“This insistence is premature and raises a question of how many times must the minister go on leave if his officials are under investigation.

“The decision to place a minister on ‘leave’ is the absolute power of the prime minister which should be made based on facts and evidence available," he said in a statement.

On April 13, MACC detained Human Resources Minister V Sivakumar’s senior officer after it was believed that he acted as a ‘runner’ collecting bribes from agents for hiring foreign workers.

A day after, another senior officer was arrested in relation to the same case.

On April 16, Sivakumar was reported to have been summoned to the MACC headquarters to record his statement on claims of receiving cash from a businessman who was arrested by the MACC along with both his officers.

There have been calls from certain politicians and parties asking Sivakumar to go on leave while the investigations are on-going.

However, Jais said: "Let’s not be reckless in upholding justice and make the MACC investigation a political issue to bring down opponents.

“The people must be confident and trust the transparency of the process and let it run smoothly (first),” he added.