PETALING JAYA: Chai Jin Shern (James Chai), a former aide to Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli, says he will leave it to his lawyers to liaise with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) after the anti-graft body issued a notice seeking to trace him.
Chai said, in a statement Friday (March 6), that he had already handed his lawyers the email address of MACC officer Mohd Hafidz Abdul Halim, whose name was on the Notice to Trace Individuals publication, alongside the phone numbers of other investigating officers found on the MACC’s official statement issued earlier Friday).
Chai noted that he appointed two experienced lawyers to assist him in liaising with the MACC after finding out about the commission’s request through the Notice to Trace Individuals published on March 4.
“Once again, I am ready to provide full cooperation to the MACC in a lawful and professional manner,” he said in a statement on Friday.
Earlier, the MACC urged Chai to contact investigators and return to Malaysia to assist in an ongoing investigation.
The MACC instructed Chai to contact any of the five officers listed in its statement.
To this, Chai said he had received two separate messages via WhatsApp on March 5 and 6 from numbers claiming to represent the MACC.
Both messages had the same content with different officers’ names, and sought Chai to give statements at the MACC.
“These messages represent the first time I have received any messages from any channel that claims to represent the MACC.
“Prior to these messages, I have not received any form of communication with the explicit mention of MACC nor any form of formal notice,” he said.
Chai clarified that he generally blocks numbers that are suspicious or unknown given the high incidences of fraud or scam cases in Malaysia, especially those involving scammers disguised as authorities.
“I want to clarify that I was waiting for the formal notice from MACC so that we could arrange a session for me to provide the statements necessary for the full investigation of the relevant case,” said Chai, adding that he first found out about the MACC’s request through the Notice to Trace Individuals published widely on March 4.
