On Friday, 21 January 2022, my service centre manager, Naveen K. Rasiah, who is also my nephew, was summoned to the Kuala Lumpur MACC office and given a letter that he will be charged for a corruption offence on Monday morning.

This so-called corruption offence is arising out of events in August/September 2017. In August, I had publicly raised with the Immigration Department the issue of how a Bangladeshi businessman named Monomiah Siddikur Rahman was corruptly obtaining permits for Bangladeshi workers as cleaners and staff in hotels by using fabricated documents and asking the DG of Immigration to investigate and take action. I also wrote to the DG directly on the matter. My information on Monomiah came from a whistle blower named En Mohamed Tahir Faizal.

Suddenly on 21 September 2017, three of my service centre staff Naveen, Joshua Kalaisevan and Nico Kam were arrested by the MACC, remanded for 4 days and investigated for an alleged offence that they were trying to solicit money from Monomiah in return for dropping the issue.

I state for the record that this allegation is completely false malicious and without any basis. My staff nor myself were in no position whatsoever to control what actions the DG of Immigration would take regarding the issue that I had already raised publicly. My staff were also in no position to decided what I would or would not do with regard to the matter.

I too gave a statement to the MACC then as their employer. The MACC made it clear to me that I was not regarded as having anything to do with the arrangement to meet Monomiah and that was done by my staff.

No charges were brought against any of my staff including Naveen upon release from remand. I am sure that if any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Naveen or the others had been found, the MACC would have charged immediately.

Now almost 4 and a half years have passed since the investigation was completed in September 2017. No action was taken against Naveen in that time and in fact the file should have been closed.

Now, a month after I had raised the issue of Tan Sri Azam Baki’s ownership of shares in Parliament on 14 December 2021, an allegation which has no basis has suddenly been revived by MACC to charge my staff Naveen.

The entire action by MACC reeks of a personal vendetta intended to try to tarnish the image of my service centre.

I stand by the integrity of Naveen. He is innocent of these allegations which are false and completely illogical as I have explained above. Naveen and his legal team will demonstrate his innocence in the court battle ahead.

This reprisal action by MACC will only serve to further damage its reputation as it will seen by being motivated by personal factors and ulterior motives.

If MACC thinks this will make me or my colleagues in Parliament back off on this issue, they are completely mistaken.

I hope that the Prime Minister will see that the integrity of a key institution MACC is seriously tarnished by such reprisal actions. His statements on fighting corruption will look even more and more hollow.

YB Sivarasa Rasiah

MP Sungai Buloh