Apandi should not have engaged with Low’s representatives and should have demanded his surrender.
DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng and DAP national legal bureau chairman Ramkarpal Singh today pressed former attorney general (AG) Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali to confirm if he received any benefits or payments for helping to arrange a meeting between fugitive Low Taek Jho’s lawyers and current attorney general Tan Sri Idrus Harun.
Lim suggested that Low “continues to exert considerable influence in government circles” to the point that he is able to engage Apandi to act on his behalf and to help him arrange meetings with the AGC and government agencies, before urging Apandi to explain himself.
“Will Mohamad Apandi Ali clarify his relationship with Jho Low as well as explain the benefits he received from this relationship with Jho Low?” he asked.
While Apandi was reported to have helped arrange the meetings where Low’s representatives allegedly offered RM1.5 billion to Malaysia, he was yesterday quoted as saying that the meetings with Low’s representatives and the AGC were positive but were ultimately aborted by the AGC.
Lim today stressed that there should not be any settlement with Low over his alleged crimes, noting: “DAP fervently objects to any deal with Low and the payment of either RM1.5 billion or any sum of money in exchange for absolving Low of any crime committed. This is not only immoral and unethical but also legally wrong. After all, all of Low’s assets amounting to billions of ringgit are liable to be confiscated upon being charged and convicted.”
Ramkarpal said that Apandi must disclose if the meetings he helped to arrange between Low’s representatives and the AGC was with the aim of eventually having the Malaysian government drop criminal charges against Low, saying that this is a “public interest” matter.
“Mohamed Apandi said he was approached by Kobre & Kim, from Washington DC, which represents Low, to assist in setting up meetings on their behalf with the AG at the end of May,” he said.
“Apandi should further disclose if he was paid for his services by Low. If he was paid by Low, the question arises as to whether the said payment was from 1MDB funds,” he added.
“It is strange that the very person who was once interested in bringing back Low to face charges in Malaysia is now involved in settlement negotiations with him,” he said, adding that Apandi should clear the air as soon as he can to avoid unnecessary speculation over the negotiations.
“Any attempt to settle Low’s criminal cases in exchange for a sum of money can be a form of corruption and Mohamed Apandi must disclose if he was informed by Low’s representatives that this was Low’s intention,” Ramkarpal said.
He added that Mohamed Apandi, the AG who cleared former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak of any wrongdoing during the height of the 1MDB scandal, should not have engaged with Low’s representatives but instead, should have demanded his surrender.