Police may 'compel' Najib, Rosmah to give statement on wiretapped calls

Inspector-General of Police Abdul Hamid Bador would not rule out "compelling" former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor to give a statement regarding a series of recorded phone calls released by the MACC last month.

Also to be compelled to give a statement is the former MACC chief Dzulkifli Ahmad, who as a deputy public prosecutor at the time the wiretapped calls were made.

“There were times when they were called (to give a statement), they couldn’t come due to reasonable causes such as having (other cases) in court or ill health, and perhaps they would be given a new date to come.

“We would like to resolve the case soon if we could, but they have to give reasonable grounds. If not, we will instruct them to come forward and compel them in accordance with legal procedures,” he was quoted by Berita Harian Online as saying in Malacca.

The current MACC chief Latheefa Koya had released a series of nine recorded wiretaps on Jan 8, and said the recordings had been verified as authentic.

Among those heard in the conversations were Najib, Rosmah, Dzulkifli, and then Tabung Haji chairperson Abdul Azeez Rahim.

The MACC had subsequently lodged a police report and turned over the recordings to facilitate investigations.

Elaborating on the matter, Berita Harian quoted Abdul Hamid saying that the process of recording witnesses’ statements on the case is still ongoing, and the hopes the investigation papers would be completed and submitted to the Attorney-General’s Chambers soon.

Thus far, police have recorded statements from Abdul Azeez, Latheefa, MACC deputy commissioner Azam Baki, and five MACC officers.

Latheefa had claimed that the recordings revealed a criminal conspiracy and abuse of power in relation to the 1MDB scandal, but Najib claimed it shows he hasn’t been lying about his innocence in the case.

Najib has also initiated the contempt of court proceedings against Latheefa since Najib is still facing ongoing trials in relation to the 1MDB scandal.