KUALA LUMPUR – Toh Puan Na’imah Abdul Khalid’s questions of law to the high court on the anti-graft authorities’ charges against her need not be referred to the upper court, the deputy public prosecutor told the sessions court here today.
DPP Maziah Mohaide said the wife of former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin was being accorded equal treatment under the law and that there was no discrimination against her.
Maziah said the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) was empowered to use Section 36 of the MACC Act 2009 to obtain information for investigation purposes, and the order to Na’imah under this section to declare her assets was not discriminatory.
“The MACC officer’s actions are the same as those of any other person investigated under the MACC Act 2009,” Maziah said in an affidavit in reply to Na’imah’s questions challenging her charges of failing to declare her assets to the agency.
Sessions court judge Azura Alwi today set May 9 for further case management and May 21 to hear Na’imah’s application.
Na’imah had posed her questions of law to the high court in a reference application on February 29, asking whether Sections 30 (5) and 36(2) of the MACC Act had violated her rights to not incriminate herself.
Section 30(5) states a person shall truthfully disclose all information required and cannot refuse to do so, while Section 36(2) provides for a person who does not comply with MACC’s notice to be charged and face a maximum five years jail term and fine not exceeding RM100,000.
Na’imah, 67, had wanted the high court to answer her questions, following her charge on January 23 of failing to comply with the MACC’s note to declare 12 property assets.
Her charge states she had deliberately given a written statement under oath that did not comply with the terms of the notice under Section 36(1)(b) of the MACC Act 2009. The notice was dated November 8, 2023 and sent to Na’imah days later, on November 14.
Na’imah then allegedly failed to declare her assets to MACC when she was at its Putrajaya headquarters on December 13, 2023.
Her alleged undeclared assets include companies Ilham Tower Sdn Bhd and Ilham Baru Sdn Bhd, a Mercedes-Benz EQC400 and a Mercedes-Benz SL 500, a house in Persiaran Bukit Tunku, four lots of land in Bukit Tunku and one lot each in Penang and Taman Tun Dr Ismail here.
The May 9 date fixed by the sessions court today will also include case management for Daim, Na’imah’s husband, who was similarly charged with failure to declare his assets to MACC. – March 22, 2024