Hamzah's claim of having files on govt leaders a serious matter, says Ramkarpal

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin’s statement about having many files on government party leaders from his time as home minister is a serious matter and should be given appropriate attention, the Dewan Rakyat was told yesterday.

Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Ramkarpal Singh said an investigation into the matter could only be made if a report was made for the police to open an investigation paper.

"Since the statement was made yesterday, I believe a report to the police or even to MACC (Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission) is needed before any investigation can be done.

"I think that’s the normal practice," he said when winding up the debate on the Supply Bill 2023 at the committee level.

Ramkarpal was responding to Gobind Singh Deo (PH-Damansara) who wanted to know whether an investigation was being carried out on the statement by Larut MP, which he described as an abuse of power.

Hamzah, in a special interview with an English daily on March 12, claimed he had files in his possession which could implicate government leaders in wrongdoings.

However, he said he was still thinking about whether to use them or not.

In another development, Ramkarpal said MACC had opened 33 investigation papers against the alleged misappropriation of funds by the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra), with 10 cases brought to court across the country between 2021 and 2022.

"Investigations into the remaining cases are still ongoing with several actions taken, including forfeiting and inspecting the weaknesses in the system and procedures related to Mitra funds," he said.