The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has refused to divulge any information about the investigation it has started on Sarawak Chief Minister Abdul Taib Mahmud.
All the MACC would say today was to confirm that the probe was still going on.
"As we mentioned again and again, we have started the investigation. That's all.
"As we mentioned again and again, we have started the investigation. That's all.
"I cannot give you any details," said MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed told a press conference in Kuala Lumpur. "The investigation is on."
The country's longest-serving chief minister has been accused of power abuse and corruption. Several reports had been lodged against him but the MACC has been tight-lipped about its investigation.
Besides the MACC, a financial regulatory body in Switzerland is also investigating claims of illegal assets linked to Taib kept in Swiss bank accounts.
On the death of senior Customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, Abu Kassim appeared unaware about the May 2 police report by Sarbani's widow Masiah @ Maziah Manap that an MACC officer had implied to her about a staff member having killed her husband.
"I'm not sure... let the police investigate," answered Abu Kassim as he looked at his officers, as if seeking an explanation.
He said the outcome of MACC's internal investigation into Sarbani's death would not be made public, even after it is submitted to the MACC complaints committee.
"The committee will advise us after getting the report," he replied when asked about the procedures that would follow the internal investigation.
The five-member independent committee headed by former judge Mohd Nor Abdullah has been tasked with monitoring complaints of misconduct against MACC officers and to identify weaknesses in work procedures and make proposals to improve them.
Asked about the allegation by blogger Kickdefella or Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz yesterday against PAS vice-president hopeful Husam Musa, Abu Kassim said the commission was probing the matter and would complete it soon.
It is likely that Abu Kassim had mistaken the reporter's question for another case involving Syed Azidi last year.
In April last year, Syed Azidi, a former aide to Husam, claimed he was paid RM4 million by the opposition to create negative perceptions about former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The MACC probed the allegation and recorded Syed Azidi's statement, but the outcome of this investigation is yet to be announced.
Yesterday, the blogger (left) alleged that Husam had paid him RM350,000 as compensation after his contract with Kelantan Menteri Besar Incorporated was terminated.
Husam has denied this accusation, while PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang welcomed MACC to investigate it.
Abu Kassim's press conference was called after the closing ceremony for a basic training course provided to anti-corruption agency officers from Bhutan at the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy.
The South Asian country had sent 14 of its 16 anti-corruption officers to attend a three-week training programme at the MACC-run academy.
"Your participation in the past three weeks is a record-breaking achievement for us, as the Bhutan Anti-Corruption Commission is the first foreign anti-corruption entity to send its officers of this scale for basic training," Abu Kassim told the participants in his closing speech.
The officers, a few of whom were clad in their traditional costume, also sang a Bhutanese song to commemorate the end of their training.
The country's longest-serving chief minister has been accused of power abuse and corruption. Several reports had been lodged against him but the MACC has been tight-lipped about its investigation.
Besides the MACC, a financial regulatory body in Switzerland is also investigating claims of illegal assets linked to Taib kept in Swiss bank accounts.
On the death of senior Customs officer Ahmad Sarbani Mohamed, Abu Kassim appeared unaware about the May 2 police report by Sarbani's widow Masiah @ Maziah Manap that an MACC officer had implied to her about a staff member having killed her husband.
"I'm not sure... let the police investigate," answered Abu Kassim as he looked at his officers, as if seeking an explanation.
He said the outcome of MACC's internal investigation into Sarbani's death would not be made public, even after it is submitted to the MACC complaints committee.
"The committee will advise us after getting the report," he replied when asked about the procedures that would follow the internal investigation.
The five-member independent committee headed by former judge Mohd Nor Abdullah has been tasked with monitoring complaints of misconduct against MACC officers and to identify weaknesses in work procedures and make proposals to improve them.
Asked about the allegation by blogger Kickdefella or Syed Azidi Syed Abdul Aziz yesterday against PAS vice-president hopeful Husam Musa, Abu Kassim said the commission was probing the matter and would complete it soon.
It is likely that Abu Kassim had mistaken the reporter's question for another case involving Syed Azidi last year.
In April last year, Syed Azidi, a former aide to Husam, claimed he was paid RM4 million by the opposition to create negative perceptions about former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
The MACC probed the allegation and recorded Syed Azidi's statement, but the outcome of this investigation is yet to be announced.
Yesterday, the blogger (left) alleged that Husam had paid him RM350,000 as compensation after his contract with Kelantan Menteri Besar Incorporated was terminated.Husam has denied this accusation, while PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang welcomed MACC to investigate it.
Abu Kassim's press conference was called after the closing ceremony for a basic training course provided to anti-corruption agency officers from Bhutan at the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Academy.
The South Asian country had sent 14 of its 16 anti-corruption officers to attend a three-week training programme at the MACC-run academy.
"Your participation in the past three weeks is a record-breaking achievement for us, as the Bhutan Anti-Corruption Commission is the first foreign anti-corruption entity to send its officers of this scale for basic training," Abu Kassim told the participants in his closing speech.
The officers, a few of whom were clad in their traditional costume, also sang a Bhutanese song to commemorate the end of their training.
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