Covert agency linked to former PM raided

KUALA LUMPUR: A house belonging to a high-ranking female officer, believed to be connected to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, was raided over the weekend.

According to Malaysia Decides, the woman, who was said to be the then head of a powerful intelligence unit – Malaysian External Intellig­ence Organisation – under the Prime Minister’s Department, went on leave pending a probe that Najib had handed her important documents two days before GE14.

The news portal reported that Bukit Aman police raided her house in Seri Kembangan.

They also sealed two buildings in Putrajaya and Jalan Bellamy from where the unit operated. However, no documents were found.

Quoting unnamed government sources, Malaysia Decides said the unit had massive funding and was used to keep track of government critics in the country and abroad.

The top officer, backed by 300 per­­sonnel, reported only to Najib, it said.

“It basically operated as a spy agency, and all its activities were tailored at keeping Najib in power,” the portal reported.

Meanwhile, Datuk Harpal Singh Grewal and M. Athimulan have withdrawn from Najib’s legal team.

“We were not kicked out. We left because another team came in,” Harpal said late last night.

It is believed that the new team is being led by former solicitor-general Datuk Mohd Yusof Zainal Abidin.