Attorney General’s position under threat? Reportedly in Dr M camp’s sights.....
Abdul Gani Patail's alleged misconducts were reportedly discussed in the meeting attended by Dr Mahathir, Mat Zain and Shafee. - The Malaysian Insider pic, November 6, 2013.Tan Sri Abdul Gani Patail's position as the Attorney General appears under threat as reports and sources say former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has met several people to discuss the top government lawyer's misdeeds.
The speculation is based on a meeting attended by Dr Mahathir, former Kuala Lumpur Criminal Investigations Department director Datuk Mat Zain Ibrahim and prominent lawyer Tan Sri Muhammad Shafee Abdullah.
News portal Malaysiakini reported that three months ago, Mat Zain received a surprise phone call from Shafee to attend the meeting.
The report revealed that Mat Zain met Shafee at the lawyer's office-cum-residence in Bukit Tunku on August 10, three days after Hari Raya.
The two was said to have discussed Gani's alleged “misconducts”, as well as the highly-publicised case on Pulau Batu Puteh - the island off Johor which the International Court of Justice awarded to Singapore following a legal dispute in 2008.
The news portal said Mat Zain and Shafee later met Dr Mahathir at his residence in Country Heights, Kajang, on the same day.
Present at the meeting were Dr Mahathir's former political secretary Matthias Chang and former Commercial Crimes Investigation Department director, Datuk Ramli Yusoff, who briefed the former premier over his run-ins with Gani.
Their discussion also touched on other alleged wrongdoings by the AG, including fabrication of evidence in the famous "black eye" case of 1998 involving former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Mat Zain, who was the investigating officer in that case, had informed Dr Mahathir of fabrication of evidence allegedly committed by Gani, then a senior deputy public prosecutor handling Anwar's first sodomy and power abuse case, following his dismissal from the government.
The alleged fabrication took place when Gani was said to have brought in pathologist Dr Abdul Rahman Yusoff to accuse Anwar in court of self-inflicting his injuries, contradicting medical reports.
As a result, a Royal Commission of Inquiry was set up to investigate the black-eye incident, resulting in the admission by former inspector-general of police Tan Sri Abdul Rahim Noor that he had beaten Anwar hours after his arrest on September 20, 1998.
In 2008, Anwar filed a police report against Gani and former police chief Tan Sri Musa Hassan, who was involved in the first sodomy case thrown at Anwar.
The accusations of fabrication and misconduct on the part of Gani and Musa were however dismissed by a three-member committee comprising retired judges formed by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
It was reported that in the meeting with Mahathir, Shafee (pic, right) agreed that the appointment of the MACC committee to clear Gani and Musa was illegal.
Two months after the meeting, Mat Zain on October 7 made a statutory declaration on the matter, with copies sent to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, solicitor-general Datuk Idris Harun and Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar.
In August, Gani appointed Shafee to lead the prosecution team in its appeal against Anwar's acquittal in the Sodomy II charge.
Gani, 58, joined the Attorney General's Chambers in 1980 and was appointed AG in 2002.
He had come under heavy criticism from the opposition and non-governmental organisations over his handling of several high profile cases, including the Altantuya Shaariibuu murder and the cheating case involving former transport minister Tun Dr Ling Liong Sik.
Dr Mahathir is also said to have pressured Gani and called Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi for a discussion. During the meeting, Dr Mahathir claimed that the AG's Chambers employed two CIA agents. Ahmad Zahid had agreed to probe into the claim. - November 6, 2013.
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