Ex-aide to Najib remanded over school solar panel scandal

PUTRAJAYA: A former special officer to Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has been arrested following allegations he had solicited money from a company awarded to install solar panels in Sarawak schools.

The 44-year-old was arrested when he was called by anti-graft officers to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s headquarters on Monday.

Investigators have obtained a four-day remand from magistrate Shah Wira Abdul Halim the next day for further questioning.

MACC sources familiar with the investigation said the former aide was said to have asked for money from the Bintulu-based company.

“We were made to understand that he had asked for a huge sum,” a source told The Star.

However, the source did not reveal the amount, believed to be in millions of ringgit.

It is also understood that the money did not exchange hands.

“Nonetheless, we need to question him as there are allegations that he solicited for money.”

MACC investigations director Datuk Simi Abd Ghani confirmed the remand, but declined to elaborate.

The solar panel project for schools in Sarawak courted controversy when it was highlighted that the contract was said to have been done under the “direct order” of the then prime minister.