Today, while disgraced former Prime Minister Najib Razak arrived at the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) offices to give a statement regarding the billions of dollars that floated through the ether during his tenure in office, the newly appointed chief of the commission described the terrifying turn his life took after he began to look into the former PM’s activities.
Datuk Seri Mohd Shukri Abdul described a particularly harrowing period of his life, where he was forced to run away to the United States after his former boss Tan Sri Abu Kassim Mohamad made the call to indict former PM Najib over the RM2.6 billion (US$ 655 million) that had mysteriously found its way into his personal bank account.
At the time, Shukri says that there was plenty of evidence to back up the need to investigate a branch of 1MDB, SRC International, that was behind the massive funds transfer.
Both Shukri and Abu Kassim were behind going for the country’s most powerful civil servant, with Shukri telling the press today that he was “willing to do it for the country.”
We all know what happened next: Gearing up to press charges against Najib, the former Attorney-General, Gani Patail, was suddenly dismissed. Other moves within the party further tightened the PM’s grip on dissent, with the deputy prime minister Muhyiddin, and Umno party vice president Shafie Apdal, also being sacked from the party. The two had been so bold as to question where the mysterious funds came from.
Worried about what was to come, Shukri created a diversion, saying that he was to travel to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; instead, he flew to Washing DC in late July, where he met with US authorities to discuss the 1MDB issue. He says that in Jeddah, officers had already been told to arrest him upon arrival.
In Washington, Shukri describes being followed by a man, who his team in the US managed to take photos of, alerting the MACC that he was aware that he was being stalked.
Unsafe, he then traveled to New York, where he was given protection via a friend in the NYPD who provided no less than three bodyguards to ensure his safety. Only then would he return to Washington.
He described his life investigating the activities of the former PM: Witness that he interviewed suddenly disappeared, personal threats over his job where issued, he was told to retire early, or face the indignity of being sent to a training division.
Overwhelmed, he broke down in tears describing that his fellow dedicated colleagues at the MACC were jailed simply for doing their jobs, accused of conspiring to topple the ruling BN government.
Newly appointed Home Minister Muhyiddin has urged Shukri to file a police report after receiving threats during his 1MDB investigations, so that his claims could be formally investigated.
Shukri was ultimately forced into early retirement in August 2016, with his boss Abu Kassim being replaced that same year.
A man dedicated to the commission, Shukri had served as a dedicated employee for 32 years, having risen through the ranks after joining as a fresh grad.
His return was at the request of the new Pakatan Harapan government, and Shukri clocked back at work yesterday morning, just an hour after receiving his official appointment letter.
Meanwhile, the residence of one of Najib’s top officers has been raided, with police saying that the unnamed woman was the head of a powerful, secret intelligence agency within the former PM’s office. Government sources claim the unit, named the Malaysian External Intelligence Organization, has massive funding, and was primarily tasked with keeping track of government critics both at home, and abroad.
You can’t make this stuff up, people. When real-life is genuinely crazier than a Hollywood movie.
