This comes as suspicion was raised over the role of a third man who was charged alongside Latif Bandi and his son.
In witness statements to graft investigators last year, it was stated that property consultant Amir Sharifuddin Abdul Raub was charged with money laundering, as opposed to the initial suspicion that he was the “giver” in the graft case.
A source said Amir was “candid” in his statement, but FMT has not been able to verify this with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, which conducted the probe into Latif, his son Ahmad Fauzan Hatim and Sharifuddin.
It added that the nature of the accusation against Amir was that he could be acting as a trustee to deliver “stacks of cash” to powerful players who have been calling the shots in the state.
But the source said that it was the “strange chain of process” used by a very senior anti-graft officer that was questionable.
It said the officer, who has since resigned, had delibrately chosen not to consult with then attorney-general Mohamed Apandi Ali.
“Instead, he skipped several layers to present it to parties which we’d rather not name to you,” the source told FMT, refusing to divulge more details when pressed.
The source told FMT that not long after, documents linked to the investigation on Latif, including the witness statement by Amir, were leaked on the internet.
Days later, Amir through his lawyer said the witness statement in question was not the same document that had been given to Latif’s counsel, and that many pages had been left out, adding that there were documents which neither Amir nor his counsel were aware of.
Later, an attempt by Wong Shu Qi, the then Senai assemblywoman, to raise the matter in the Johor state assembly, was shot down.
The source said the new PH government in Johor must clear up this part of the case if it were to stop interference “from unseen hands” in the state’s administrative affairs.
“It was this same interference that made the previous state government exhausted, to a point that they would rather lose the state than being blamed for something they have no control of,” said the source.
The source said in this respect, incoming attorney-general Tommy Thomas must stick to his commitment to the reforms agenda.
“Will he have the courage to bring reforms that is much needed to both the judicial and legal service, by suggesting to the PH government that in the New Malaysia, politicians or anyone are not above the law?
“How far does this PH government dare to bring reforms? How brave is the current PH government and the AG?” the source asked.
“Until this is done, we cannot say that true reforms have been achieved.”