Don't insult judiciary by alleging govt interference in decisions, says Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA: Alleging that the government interferes in decisions made by the courts is an insult to the judiciary, says Fahmi Fadzil.

The Communications and Digital Minister said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had repeatedly said that neither the government nor he would interfere in matters of the courts.

"If there are those who make such allegations, then to me, it is an insult to the (court) process," he said on Friday (March 3).

Fahmi was asked to comment on claims of government interference in the case of Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

The High Court had acquitted the former prime minister and former 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) CEO Arul Kanda Kandasamy in the 1MDB audit tampering trial.

Najib, 70, was accused of abusing his position to order amendments to the 1MDB final audit report to avoid any action being taken against him, while Arul Kanda, 46, was accused of abetting him in making the amendments to the report.

The offence was allegedly committed at the Prime Minister’s Department Complex here between Feb 22 and 26, 2016.

Fahmi also said that the government was actively pursuing efforts to retrieve 1MDB funds.

He said that the latest success where Abu Dhabi’s state-owned International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) and Aabar Investments PJS agreed to pay RM8.1bil reflected the government's commitment to this.

Fahmi said if there was a need to expedite the process, the government might consider setting up a special task force.

"What is important is that we are making all efforts to get the money back," he added.

Last week, IPIC and Aabar Investment PJS had agreed to make the payment after the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOF Inc) and 1MDB reached a settlement regarding their dispute with the two companies.

In November last year, a London judge gave the go-ahead to Malaysia to press its case against IPIC and Aabar PJS for their role in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal.