MACC: No overtime please, we are Malaysians.

[pywong]

Lodge complaints with MACC by 5.30pm

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 11:22

PUTRAJAYA - From now on, members of the public who wish to lodge reports with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) should do so by 5.30pm.

The MACC has decided to start and stop interviews during regular office hours from 8.30am to 5.30pm. The decision takes immediate effect.

“We urge people who want to lodge reports with us or who want to give us their statements to come to the MACC office in the early morning or afternoon to avoid any inconvenience," said director of investigations Mohd Shukri Abdull. MalaysianMirror.... (http://www.malaysianmirror.com/homedetail/45-home/20273-lodge-complaints-with-macc-by-530pm)

[pywong]

Judges are becoming stupider by the day. There will be no freedom until we get rid of UMNO and revamp the whole system.

UMNO Must Go!

Court of Appeal allows MACC to quiz after office hours

By Debra Chong

PUTRAJAYA, Dec 17 — The Court of Appeal today ruled that the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) can interrogate witnesses beyond office hours.

The decision of the three-man Bench, comprising Justices Hasan Lah, Ahmad Maarop and Syed Ahmad Helmy Syed Ahmad, was unanimous.

Once again, the High Court has been overruled by the Court of Appeal, in a case brought by the opposition against the establishment.

The MACC had lost the case last month when the High Court ruled that Kajang town councillor Tan Boon Wah had been illegally detained for questioning overnight at its head office in Plaza Masalam, Shah Alam on July 15.

High Court judge Mohd Ariff Mohd Yusof had ruled on Nov 21 that the phrase “day to day”, which was at the core of the dispute between Tan and the MACC, cannot mean “round the clock” investigation which includes recording statements from the witness.

Mohd Ariff then applied the dictionary meaning to the phrase and said it should be confined to office hours, which are between 8.30am and 5.300pm.

“We are of the view that Section 30(3)(a) of the MACC Act comprises two points as submitted by counsel,” Hasan observed when he read out the judgment, which disagreed with the High Court ruling.

“There is nothing in the provision to say that ‘day to day’ is restricted to normal working hours,” he noted.

But the three-men bench failed to define what the term should mean, a point which lawyer Karpal Singh, acting for Tan, pounced on. TheMalaysiaInsider.... (http://themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/46815-court-of-appeal-allows-macc-to-quiz-after-office-hours)

[pywong]

DAP demands lawyers presence at MACC interrogation
By Shazwan Mustafa Kamal
May 24, 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 — The DAP today demanded the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) allow lawyers to be present with witnesses during interrogations.

DAP National Chairman Karpal Singh said that witnesses should have access to their lawyers since they could now be hauled up to be questioned beyond office hours.

“Witnesses should have a right to counsel when giving statements (to the MACC).

“Lawyers should be present... simply videoing is not enough,” Karpal told The Malaysian Insider.

The veteran lawyer was responding to a report earlier today which quoted the MACC complaints committee as saying that it had proposed installing CCTV cameras in interrogation areas as part of overhauls to investigation procedures following the death of Teoh Beng Hock last year.

Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Noor Abdullah had said they also proposed for the commission to study and adopt interrogation procedures practised by foreign agencies, such as Hong Kong’s Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).

But Karpal remained sceptical about MACC’s reform initiatives.

“It is a (step in the) right direction but whether there will be proper implementation is another question.

“They should definitely study other countries and use it as reference models, that is the way to stay in the right direction,” said the Bukit Gelugor MP.

Meanwhile, DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang dismissed the MACC’s efforts as not being enough to restore public faith in the law enforcement agency.

“This will not be sufficient in order to restore public confidence,” he told The Malaysian Insider via telephone.

The Ipoh Timur MP also demanded that the results of the Cabinet’s inquiry into interrogation techniques of MACC be made public.

“After the inquest was made to investigate Teoh Beng Hock’s death, an inquiry into interrogation techniques of the MACC by the Cabinet was supposedly done.

“What has happened to that?” asked Lim.

The Federal Court had on last Friday upheld an earlier court of appeal decision in allowing the MACC to conduct-round-the-clock investigations on witnesses. TheMalaysiaInsider.... (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/dap-demands-lawyers-presence-at-macc-interrogation/)