TMR

THE Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) is open to conducting joint investigations with the Inland Revenue Board (IRB) into potential corruption linked to undisclosed offshore financial accounts.

MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki said such cooperation would depend on whether IRB was prepared to share intelligence with the anti-graft agency.

“We do not know which companies are on the IRB’s radar. We are willing to conduct joint investigations on corruption-related issues if the IRB is willing to share information with us,” he told an English daily.

Azam said cooperation among enforcement agencies is crucial in tracing suspicious fund flows, particularly in cases where tax evasion could overlap with corruption, abuse of power or money laundering.

He said MACC was ready to support any multi-agency effort aimed at safeguarding national revenue and strengthening financial governance.

Transparency International Malaysia (TI-M) president Raymon Ram said the discovery of offshore accounts involving 14,858 Malaysian tax residents and funds totalling RM10 billion should be treated as more than administrative non-compliance.

“Offshore secrecy is a well-known enabler of corruption, fraud, organised crime and aggressive tax evasion. It undermines trust when the majority comply while a minority attempts to opt out of the system,” he said.

He said enforcement should extend beyond tax recovery to MACC and relevant regulators where patterns suggested corruption proceeds, abuse of corporate vehicles or professional enablers.

Meanwhile, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) CEO Pushpan Murugiah said the IRB findings pointed to deeper and long-standing governance and integrity issues.

“It fits a familiar pattern we’ve seen through the Pandora Papers, Panama Papers and Paradise Papers: Offshore secrecy isn’t just about ‘tax planning’, it’s a system that has repeatedly been used to hide wealth, avoid scrutiny and, in some cases, launder the proceeds of corruption or illicit activity,” he said.

He said offshore secrecy tended to thrive when enforcement was slow, fragmented or negotiable.

“Malaysia needs enforcement that is predictable, proportionate and insulated from interference,” he said.

He said Malaysia already had strong laws and agencies, but the real challenge lay in political will and institutional coordination to use them consistently.

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PAS spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin (picture) said he hoped for cooperation with UMNO after meeting the party’s ulama’ council chairman Datuk Dusuki Ahmad, at his residence.

He said the meeting, which was also attended by former PKR member Wan Ji Wan Hussin, discussed efforts to strengthen Kemas pre-tahfiz kindergartens and wider national education policies, an online news portal reported.

“May the meeting lead to greater cooperation between PAS and UMNO in safeguarding the interests of Islam, the Malay community, the National Education Policy, the National Language Policy and others from being dismantled by certain parties.

“This is a shared responsibility. Cooperation among believers must be upheld in whatever form, as required in Islam,” he said in a Facebook post yesterday.

UMNO and PAS formed Muafakat Nasional (MN) in 2019 to consolidate the Malay-Muslim vote, but the pact collapsed after PAS joined Bersatu to form Perikatan Nasional (PN), which later took power in 2020. Although several PAS and UMNO leaders have since floated the idea of reviving MN, UMNO president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has rejected the proposal.

Hashim said Dusuki had shared Umno leaders’ efforts to strengthen Kemas pre-tahfiz kindergartens, which he described as consistent with PAS’s long-standing role in early Islamic education.

He also urged the Ministry of Education (MOE) to review its proposal to allow six-year-old children to enter Standard 1 from the 2027 academic session, citing classroom shortages and the established role of institutions such as Pasti, PAS’s Islamic preschool network.

Wan Ji said he attended the meeting in his personal capacity and was not representing any political party or organisation.

In a separate development yesterday, Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz has welcomed a PAS leader’s call for a “ceasefire” between the two parties, but said harmony within PN should begin with an apology from PAS over accusations linked to the Perlis Mentri Besar (MB) crisis, an online news portal reported.

“Be honest about the Perlis issue. Do not conceal the truth or uphold falsehoods.

“Do not sacrifice the agenda of unity and the struggle of the ummah, relations among coalition parties and harmonious ties with the royal palace merely to defend an individual,” he said in a Facebook post.

The Perlis crisis, which saw the MB post shift from PAS to Bersatu, prompted claims by PAS that it had been betrayed by its allies. Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin has repeatedly denied that his party played any role in the matter.

PAS assistant secretary-general Syahir Sulaiman two days ago called for a “ceasefire” between Bersatu and PAS, pending an immediate meeting of the PN Supreme Council, amid renewed sparring over the coalition’s chairmanship.

Muhyiddin has claimed that Bersatu and PAS agreed to abolish the PN chairman’s post, a claim rejected by PAS leaders.

Tun Faisal said a PAS leader had contacted him last month to explore ways to restore harmony between the two PN components.

“I told him it was actually quite simple and could begin with an apology. I suggested that the accusation that Bersatu betrayed PAS in the Perlis issue be withdrawn and that an apology would be appropriate,” he said.

He added that several “red lines” had been crossed and that outstanding issues needed to be resolved.

“These issues must be managed properly. New boundaries and red lines need to be set and a new agreement forged. Otherwise, these issues will resurface in the future,” he said.

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THE mother of a student charged in the alleged insulting of Zara Qairina Mahathir (picture) told the coroner’s court that she had reservations about her daughter’s version of events, saying she could usually tell when the girl was not being truthful.

The 42-year-old housewife, the 62nd witness in the inquest into Zara Qairina’s death, said that while she generally trusted her daughter, identified in proceedings as Student A, she did not accept her accounts without question.

She testified that she could tell when her daughter was lying as the girl would become agitated and change her words, an English daily reported. 

“Even so, I keep about 10% doubt,” she said during an examination by lawyer Nurul Rafeeqa Afdul in the afternoon session.

The witness added that her daughter had previously been caught lying at home after doing something to her siblings.

Student A is among five children charged in the alleged insulting case involving Zara Qairina.

Despite describing her relationship with Student A as good, the mother said she was firm in disciplining her child, including reprimanding her, forbidding her from going out to play and refusing requests as punishment.

“I am a fierce and firm mother, especially when it comes to manners and speech.

“I also did not expose her to ‘heavy’ social issues. Even kissing scenes on television, I would ask her to close her eyes.

“That is why when there were strange or immoral things, she would think of them as unusual because she had never seen such things,” she said, referring to Student A having inquired about alleged intimate actions between Zara Qairina and another student at the school dormitory.

The witness also told the court that Student A had many friends during her primary school years.

On a separate matter, she said her decision to inform the school warden about an alleged poor relationship between Zara Qairina, her mother and grandmother was linked to dormitory regulations.

In her witness statement, the mother said her daughter had told her that Zara Qairina disliked both family members.

She said the incident was believed to have occurred on Feb 21, 2025, when Student A claimed Zara Qairina had left her mother waiting for two hours, from 2pm to 4pm.

“I told the warden so that she would be aware of this issue, as parents are not allowed to go in or upstairs at the dormitory. But Zara Qairina’s mother went up after she became angry from waiting too long and being ignored by Zara Qairina downstairs.

“I was once told to leave when I tried to go in,” the witness added.

In a separate development in the same inquest earlier yesterday, the child’s mother also testified that Student A continued to be labelled a “murderer” even after transferring to a new school.

She testified before Coroner Amir Shah Amir Hassan that in the early days of enrollment at the new school, a student had called Student A a murderer directly to her face, according to an English daily.

“For the second incident, when she went on stage to receive her first prize, students from the same batch uttered ‘murderer, murderer’.

“She did not hear it herself, but people around her did and later informed her. There were also boos,” she said, adding that Student A had transferred to the new school in November last year.

The mother also informed the court that her child was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) last year and is still undergoing treatment, as recently as last Tuesday.

Zara Qairina, 13, was found unconscious on the ground floor of the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Agama (SMKA) Tun Datu Mustapha dormitory on July 16 last year and died the following day.

The inquest will resume today.

The post Zara Qairina inquest: Mother questions charged student’s story appeared first on The Malaysian Reserve.

KUALA LUMPUR — The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has proposed 20 improvement measures to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to strengthen governance and close loopholes across five key areas.

In a statement, MACC said it had identified five governance issues at DBKL, including the management of the radio studio broadcast content production project and the administration of the 2023 the Malaysian Statutory Bodies Sports Association Championship (Sukanun).

Other issues highlighted were the management and allocation of Ramadan and Aidilfitri bazaar sites, as well as the collection of rental payments for People’s Housing Projects (PPR) and Public Housing (PA).

In addition, MACC recommended improvements to the management and monitoring of contracts related to the implementation of various business licence management services.

The statement said the recommendations were presented by the MACC’s Governance Investigation Division (BPT) following observations and investigations of existing procedures.

The presentation was delivered by BPT head of Branch F Zulhairy Zaidel. Also present were BPT director Datuk Mohd Zaki Hassan, Deputy Director II Ahmad Shukri Mohamad Taib and Deputy Director III Norazlina Abd Rahim.

Kuala Lumpur Mayor Datuk Fadlun Mak Ujud welcomed the proposed improvements, describing them as a crucial measure to strengthen the service delivery system and improve DBKL’s efficiency and integrity. — BERNAMA

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ALOR SETAR — Police have secured a remand order for a 28-year-old man, the main suspect in the murder of a woman at a house on Jalan Tanjung Bendahara here on Monday.

A seven-day remand order was issued by Magistrate Nur Syifa Mohd Hamzah, until Feb 9, to facilitate the investigation under Section 302 of the Penal Code.

In a statement today, Kota Setar police chief ACP Syed Basri Syed Ali said that the suspect was arrested at 8.34 pm last night by a team from the Kota Setar district police headquarters and state Criminal Investigation Department. 

“The suspect was arrested within 24 hours of the incident to assist in the investigation into the murder of a 52-year-old woman, which occurred in a residential area here.

“He was detained while boarding a tour bus at kilometre 441.5 southbound of the North-South Expressway,” he said.

He disclosed that the suspect has a prior criminal record and tested negative in an initial drug screening.

The victim, Zahrullail Basir, 52, was found dead with three stab wounds to her body and injuries to her head at a house in Taman Sultan Abdul Halim, Jalan Tanjung Bendahara, yesterday morning. The victim, a bank operations executive, lived with her three children. 

He added that investigations found that a handbag containing a mobile phone, cash, and jewellery was missing from the scene. 

He appealed for public cooperation to facilitate the investigation, warning that firm action would be taken against anyone spreading false or unverified information.

“Such individuals can be investigated under the relevant legal provisions and face appropriate penalties,” he said. — BERNAMA

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