The lawyers, Rajesh Nagarajan and Sachpreetraj Singh Sohanpal, said Anwar’s statement was “clearly about the ongoing court proceedings and MACC probe on Daim”.
“Why does Anwar need to call for the opposition and others to support the MACC’s actions? There is a legal process properly set out under the MACC Act which governs investigations.
“This process doesn’t include any role for the prime minister to carry out rabble-rousing against persons being investigated,” they said in a statement.
They stressed that MACC’s investigations must be carried out “free from outside pressures or influence”.
Yesterday, The Edge reported Anwar as questioning the failure of opposition leaders to express support for MACC’s efforts to investigate high-profile figures.
Anwar said the opposition had instead claimed that the investigations were motivated by personal vendettas.
“In Parliament, the opposition seems agitated, angry and resentful. There is no voice from the opposition bloc supporting steps to combat corruption, which I find strange.
“When I was in the opposition, whenever the government proposed initiatives for MACC, I supported them. In fact, I even criticised it (MACC) if I thought it was not bold enough,” he was quoted as saying when opening the National Anti-Corruption Summit 2024.
Daim’s lawyers said Anwar’s statement was “highly prejudicial to the pending court proceedings and capable of exerting undue pressure and influence upon MACC”.
“It sends out the signal that Daim’s guilt is already established and that the rest is just mere formality,” they said.
“Anwar must remember that under our criminal justice system, every person is entitled to a fair and unbiased legal process, free from all interference.”
Last month, Daim, the former finance minister, was charged with failing to declare to MACC his ownership of 71 assets, including 38 companies, 19 plots of land in Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Pahang, Kedah and Kuala Lumpur, as well as six properties.
His wife, Naimah Khalid, also claimed trial to a charge of failing to comply with a MACC notice requiring the declaration of assets.
The family has filed an application for a judicial review over MACC’s probe into their affairs.