Jailed PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim wants Muhammad Shafee Abdullah, the lawyer who successfully led the prosecution that secured his sodomy conviction, to be investigated.
Anwar made the call after allegations emerged that Shafee received RM9.5 million from the Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in two tranches - on Sept 11, 2013, and on Feb 17, 2014.
"The claim by Sarawak Report that RM9.5 million of SRC International Sdn Bhd funds were transferred from Najib's personal bank account to Shafee's personal bank account is very serious.
"This matter urgently needs to be investigated by the authorities. What is the purpose of Najib transferring such large amount of funds to the personal bank account of a private lawyer who the Najib administration appointed to handle my prosecution?" Anwar said in a statement released through his party.
In the statement, Anwar also questioned who else had benefited from the SRC-linked funds.
Putrajaya, in a surprise move on July 22, 2013, recruited Shafee to lead the prosecution team against Anwar at the Court of Appeal, instead of the conventional practice of relying on public prosecutors.
The Court of Appeal on March 7, 2014, overturned the decision of the High Court in Kuala Lumpur, which acquitted Anwar, and sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment.
The Federal Court on Feb 10, 2015, upheld the conviction of Anwar, that he sodomised his former aide, Saiful Bukhari Azlan.
Malaysiakini, which has withheld Shafee's name in its earlier reports on the Sarawak Report claim, had since yesterday attempted to reach out to Shafee, through multiple channels, for his comments but to no avail.
The news portal has also contacted the prime minister's press aide Tengku Sharifuddin Tengku Ahmad over the matter.
Malaysiakini cannot independently verify Sarawak Report's allegation or ascertain if the alleged payment was related to Shafee's role in Anwar's case.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Youth chief Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman (holding police report in photo) earlier today lodged a police report on the Sarawak Report allegation and named Muhammad Shafee Abdullah as the recipient.
"It is already a well-known fact that Shafee is a known confidant of Najib and was present at at his house when the proven meeting with Saiful took place, but the huge payment further drills the conflict of interest point.
"I call upon the conscience of the public to join forces with me and make police reports on this issue. We, as members of the public, should stand together and fight for our judiciary to be clean.
"Such a report, if followed up with investigation, will clear up the air of suspicion and doubts that have surfaced internationally in regard to the independence of our judiciary," Syed Saddiq said in a statement latter.
He said that while the government has the power to appoint an external prosecutor, the payments should come from the government and not from the prime minister.
Such payments also bring questions to the minds of public, such as why the prime minister has so much interest in the case, especially acknowledging that the jailing of the (then) opposition leader would bring disunity to the opposition party.
"I would even say that such action warrants contempt of court, as a public prosecutor who is paid directly by a party to have a vested interest in the outcome of the case would not be fit to act fairly and properly in assisting the court to achieve justice.
"A public prosecutor’s job is not to put people in jail but to assist the court to find justice and the element of money coming from the prime minister’s own pocket severely brings doubt to the ability of the public prosecutor," Syed Saddiq said.
