KUALA LUMPUR – The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) asserted that it followed legal precedent when Datuk Md Wira Dani Abdul Daim was denied from having a lawyer present during witness questioning.
The agency’s comments came after lawyer Rajesh Nagarajan said he was denied access to his client Wira Dani, the eldest son of Tun Daim Zainuddin, when his client was questioned by MACC yesterday.
Responding to the allegations, MACC explained that Wira Dani was summoned to their headquarters in Putrajaya to give a witness statement under Section 30(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Act 2009.
“On that note, there is a legal precedent which allows the suspension of rights to legal representation during certain investigation procedures,” MACC said in a statement today.
It referred to the 2017 case of MACC & Ors v Latheefa Beebi Koya & Anor which ruled that Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution does not guarantee the right to legal representation while recording a witness statement.
MACC said that although the Federal Constitution guaranteed the right to a lawyer during criminal proceedings, such provisions are not absolute and subject to exceptions.
“In this case, MACC’s officers were of the view that the presence of Wira Dani’s lawyer could compromise investigations.
“The decision to prohibit his lawyer from attending the questioning is in line with decided cases,” the statement added.
Earlier today, Rajesh asserted that MACC officers threatened to immediately arrest Wira Dani if he insisted on having his lawyer present during the questioning.
The lawyer labelled MACC’s action as a gross abuse of power, adding that the threat of arrest was baseless under the law.
Referring to the death of Teoh Beng Hock who was similarly denied legal representation during questioning, Rajesh also urged MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and the government to address the incident.
Teoh’s body was found on the fifth-floor landing of Plaza Masalam in Shah Alam on the morning of July 16, 2009, after being questioned overnight by MACC officers at their office on the 14th floor.
At the time of his death, Teoh was the political aide to the then-Selangor executive councillor, Ean Yong Hian Wah, who was also DAP’s Seri Kembangan assemblyman.
Earlier this year, Wira Dani pled not guilty to charges of failing to comply with an MACC notice by not declaring assets – which included several luxury vehicles, companies and properties across Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Pahang, Negri Sembilan, Perak and Kedah. – August 23, 2024