SHAFIE HITS BULLS-EYE: Does govt itself doesn't want to know the truth about Najib

Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal has described the transfer of two Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) officers to another government entity in the middle of an important probe such as the one on 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) as unfair.

The Umno vice-president, ousted from the Cabinet recently, said he failed to understand why the government could not wait until the investigation was completed to make the decision.

"Why suddenly two MACC officers are being transferred when the investigations on 1MDB is still ongoing?" Shafie asked in a statement today.

"Can't it wait until the completion of the investigation? Or does the government itself don't want to know the truth?" Shafie said.

Shafie, the former rural and regional development minister, said the decision would only invite negative perception on the government.

"The act of moving the MACC officers to the Prime Minister's Department give a bad impression on the government that practises transparency and integrity," he said.

He added that the government must explain the transfer order.

Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal

"The government has to give a rational explanation and be transparent about the actions to avoid suspicions and dissatisfaction among the people," he said.

Last Friday, MACC's director of special operations Datuk Bahri Mohamad Zin and director of strategic communications, Datuk Rohaizad Jacob were transferred to the Prime Minister's Department with immediate effect.

The move came shortly after seven MACC officers were interrogated, their office raided twice and two of its staff detained by the police.

Yesterday, Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin also criticised the transfer.

He said the independence of the anti-graft commission should be protected, adding that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak himself said that he did not want "yes men" in the government leadership.

Bahri had recently criticised the police's arrests and questioning of some of his officers over alleged leaks of official information linked to the probe into 1MDB, while Rohaizad had greeted opposition politicians who came to show solidarity with MACC. – TMI