Referring to an article in Sarawak Report, which claimed that the MACC had been ordered to take “no further action” in its investigations into the protection racket, MACC deputy chief commissioner (operations) Azam Baki said Ops Gopi has not been called off.

“Investigations are still ongoing. The allegation by SR (Sarawak Report) that my chief commissioner (Dzulkifli Ahmad) and I were called in by the prime minister is not true.

“We were never instructed to close the case. I deny that and it’s a total lie,” Azam Baki told the daily.

The whistleblower site had previously reported that sources informed of how the two top MACC men were summoned by the PM’s office and told to halt any further probe into the case.

Ops Gopi refers to the anti-graft crackdown on vice and gambling centres in Melaka that began in May and which saw several police personnel being detained.

Gopinathan Krishnan was one of the individuals arrested by the MACC. He was investigated as being a key “intermediary” in the police protection racket involving gambling dens and prostitution houses in Melaka.

Last week, DAP’s Gobind Singh Deo demanded an explanation from the MACC on the fate of the operation that it led, as it had been two months since the arrests were made.

“So why has everything gone silent all of a sudden?” he said in a statement released on July 10.

“The MACC should acknowledge that this is a case which has generated great public interest and therefore there must be an update as to what has become of it.

“The MACC must explain if action has been taken and if so, what action. If no action has been taken, then tell us why not,” he said.

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