Ex-MEIO boss Hasanah Abdul Rahman sues MACC, govt

Ex-MEIO D-G claims she was denied access to lawyer while under remand

FORMER director-general of Malaysia External Intelligence Organisation (MEIO) Datuk Hasanah Abdul Hamid has sued the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the government for denying her the right to counsel when she was under remand.

Bernama reported that Hasanah filed the originating summons through Messrs Azam Aziz Shaharudinali & Co last Thursday, naming MACC and the government as respondents.

Her lawyer, Datuk Shaharudin Ali, when met after case management before High Court judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi here yesterday, said Sept 24 was set for the court to hear the originating summons.

Hasanah is seeking a declaration that the notification letter issued by MACC under Section 28A(8)(9) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC) prohibiting the appellant from seeing her lawyer, while being held under remand, contravened Articles 5(3) and 8 of the Federal Constitution.

As such, she claimed that Section 28A of the MACC Act was invalid, null and void, and could not be enforced against her.

Through a supporting affidavit, another lawyer of hers, Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz, said the legal firm learnt about her arrest by MACC last Tuesday, and her family had instructed the lawyers to attend the remand proceedings at the Putrajaya magistrate’s court the following day.

Khairul said to learn about the grounds of Hasanah’s arrest he had to see her personally at the lock-up.

However, he claimed that a notification letter under Section 28A (8) (9) of the CPC was served to the legal team during the remand proceedings, denying his client access to counsel.

He said Article 5(3) of the Federal Constitution stated that when a person was arrested, he or she shall be allowed to consult and be defended by a legal practitioner of his or her choice.

Hasanah was remanded for six days from last Wednesday to facilitate investigations into the abuse of power and misappropriation of government funds for the the 14th General Election.

She was released on MACC bail on Monday.

Meanwhile, former defence minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein was questioned by MACC yesterday in connection to an investigation involving Hasanah.

A newsportal reported that Hishammuddin was questioned for three hours at the graftbuster’s headquarters in Putrajaya.

The newsportal quoted sources as saying that Hishammuddin had gone to the MACC office after his name was mentioned by Hasanah’s lawyer, Shaharudin, on Saturday.

Shaharudin, was previously quoted as saying that MACC was seeking to question Hishammuddin over alleged misappropriation of funds by intelligence officers.

It was reported that Hasanah was remanded and later released as part of MACC’s investigations into the case.