The DAP legislator said making the details of the payment public would put to rest any speculation on the matter.
He said it would also rebut the allegation made by an online portal which claimed that the money was paid from a 1MDB slush fund account previously linked to Prime Minister Najib Razak, who is also the finance minister.
In a statement today, Ramkarpal also called on Najib and the lawyer to take immediate legal action against the portal to clear their names, and to stop further publication of the matter by way of an injunction.
Ramkarpal said Section 379 of the Criminal Procedure Code states that an advocate may be employed on behalf of the government to conduct any criminal prosecution or inquiry, or appear on any criminal appeal or point of law on behalf of the public prosecutor, with the permission in writing of the public prosecutor.
He said the legislation provides for the finance minister to sanction payment for a lawyer in such a situation.
Section 379 stipulates: “The advocate shall be paid out of the public funds such remuneration as may be sanctioned by the minister of finance and while conducting such prosecution or inquiry, or appearing on such criminal appeal or point of law reserved, shall be deemed to be a ‘public servant’.”
Ramkarpal said the provision clearly allowed for the lawyer to be appointed for a specific task, and required his remuneration to be sanctioned by the finance minister from public funds.
He said the portal’s allegation suggests that the lawyer may not have been remunerated according to the provisions of Section 379, but was instead paid from an account belonging to Najib himself.
Najib came under heavy fire in 2015 after reports by The Wall Street Journal claimed RM2.6 billion related to 1MDB had been channelled into his personal bank accounts.
Najib denied any wrongdoing, saying the money had been a donation from the Saudi royal house to fund Umno’s general election campaign in 2013.
On Jan 26, 2016, he was cleared by Attorney-General Mohamed Apandi Ali of any criminal offence in relation to the donation.
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