Idol of public service - politicians sing praises of Salwani

National Audit Department officer Nor Salwani Muhammad has become a public hero for saving a copy of the original audit report on 1MDB, as well as keeping a recording of a meeting where it was allegedly decided to make amendments to the final audit report.

Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu (photo, below) paid tribute to her in the State Legislative Assembly today.

"I hope Perak civil servants can make her an idol in carrying out their duties for the people," he said. He also gave Salwani a salute.

Meanwhile, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said the audit officer should be recognised as a Tokoh Maal Hijrah.

"This is an example of a Malay Muslim heroine who is responsible, transparent and brave, which is Islamic.

"Not shallow hatred portrayed by those who beat their chest to protect religion, race and country," he tweeted.

Lembah Pantai MP Fahmi Fadzil said Salwani had gone beyond the call of duty to fulfil a "call of conscience".

Adam Mukhriz Mohd Muhayeddin, who is a special officer to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, also praised Salwani for her courage.

"In a situation where she could not fight those who abused power, she still did what needed to be done despite the great risk," Adam posted on Facebook.

Artist Fahmi Reza also produced a graphic honouring Salwani, with the words "Berani Mengingkari Koruptor" (dare to defy corrupters).

This graphic was widely shared, including by Women, Family, and Community Development Deputy Minister Hannah Yeoh, who said the audit officer was 'the epitome of courage".

Read More: Salwani - The person who saved the original 1MDB audit report

Salwani also trended on Malaysian Twitter for five hours yesterday after the news of her deeds were reported.

Her actions had helped to preserve evidence of modifications to the National Audit Department's report on 1MDB.

Her boss at the time - auditor-general Ambrin Buang - had ordered that all 60 copies of the audit report be destroyed to prevent leaks. Only the modified copy was submitted to the Public Accounts Committee.

Salwani's copy of the audit report carried the watermark "09". This document was tendered as evidence in the trial against former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak for ordering the tampering of the audit report.

"I kept the report to be given to the new auditor-general. With pure intention, I had surrendered the report watermarked '09' to allow the new auditor-general to get the whole picture about the audit findings," Salwani said in court.

She also informed the court that she had secretly kept the copy just in case it was needed as a reference.

Yoursay: 1MDB heroine Nor Salwani deserves a medal