Rayer defends Shukri, says MACC chief should have his say

A DAP lawmaker has departed from his colleagues' criticism of new MACC chief Mohd Shukri Abdull for his tell-all session, saying "his life was at stake and must be allowed to have his say".

Jelutong MP RSN Rayer said the explosive session yesterday was important to allow the public to know the level of "abuse of power and treachery" that was allegedly happening in the country. 

"This is especially amongst high-ranking government officials including BN MPs. All of them disregarded, and betrayed their oath of office," said Rayer in a statement.

"More importantly, they betrayed the rakyat. I firmly believe the rakyat has the right to know of these events that led to the constructive dismissal of Shukri."

Yesterday, Shukri revealed that he was threatened with conspiracy to topple the government, bullets were sent to his home, and he was followed even in the United States.

Rayer said Shukri's claims were "very disturbing."

He called on the authorities to immediately find those who threatened the senior graftbuster, who was merely carrying out his duty in an honest and professional manner.

"Although some have been critical of Shukri for his public revelations, I personally believe that there is nothing wrong with the revelations he made.

"At least we know now that these things are not just something we see in the movies," he added.

Rayer was referring to the press conference held by Shukri (photo) yesterday, which revealed shocking details of what he had allegedly experienced while probing the 1MDB scandal.

What he found more bewildering is that not even a MACC deputy chief was "safe from heinous and cowardly acts of intimidation and threats by people who were in power."

"We must pay attention to this fact and realise that under the BN rule, this country was slowly and steadily, slipping into lawlessness," he noted.

Rayer expressed strong support for Bukit Gelugor MP Ramkarpal Singh's remarks that Shukri's press conference could jeopardise fresh investigation into the IMDB scandal. 

"However, I also believe that the revelations made during the press conference, especially with regard to the manner in which Shukri was treated, are extremely important to raise public awareness about being righteous, especially when one is carrying out his responsibilities as a citizen of this country.

"Shukri should adhere to the standard operating procedure (SOP) of lodging a report either with the police or the MACC.

"This is to enable a full-scale investigation to ensure action is taken against all those responsible, including an MP from the north of Malaysia who attempted to bribe him into ceasing all pending probe against 1MDB, as mentioned by Shukri," said Rayer. -Mkini