Muhyiddin cries foul over MACC raid on his lawyer’s firm

PETALING JAYA: Friday’s raid by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) on the legal firm Rosli Dahlan Saravana (RDS) Partnership is abuse of power, says Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

The Perikatan Nasional chairman urged Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to “stop the intimidation against Opposition leaders and focus on improving the country’s economy”.

RDS Partnership represents Muhyiddin, who is also Pagoh MP and a former prime minister.

One of its lawyers is among those under investigation over the recovery of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) assets.

During a ceramah in Pelangai, Pahang, on Friday night, Muhyiddin described the raid by the anti-graft body as abuse of power.

“He is a lawyer who is defending me.

“What is the purpose of the MACC going there (for a raid)?

“This looks as if there is something that is going to happen.

“This is abuse of power by certain people,” he was quoted as saying by Utusan Malaysia yesterday.

Bersatu supreme council member Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah called the raid a miscarriage of justice against Muhyiddin “by using the MACC as a tool to abuse the agency’s power”.

“The abuse of power against a lawyer who is performing his duty to defend his client and to uphold justice is a dark period in the country’s justice system,” he said in Bentong on Friday, according to Sinar Harian.

Pelangai is one of the state seats under Bentong.

On Friday, MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki confirmed that an investigation had been carried out against a lawyer involved in the government’s efforts to recover 1MDB assets.

He said the lawyer involved was one of several individuals investigated under the MACC Act 2009 and the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorist Financing and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001.

It was reported that Muhyiddin’s personal lawyer Rosli Dahlan claimed that the MACC had raided his law firm at 10.30am that day.

According to Rosli, 12 MACC officers conducted the raid and demanded investigative powers to access the entire office.