KANGAR, 23 Sept 2008: The Anti-Corruption Agency (ACA) is investigating several politicians over the party-hopping issue and the alleged offer of posts and positions for them to cross over, ACA Director-General Datuk Seri Ahmad Said Hamdan said today.
He said several politicians, including members of parliament (MPs), had been called up to give their statements after the ACA received reports on the matter.
“We are still investigating,” he told reporters at the prize presentation for the state-level anti-corruption elocution contest for pre-university students, here.
He declined to state the number of those under the agency’s watch, saying the matter was still under investigation.
“We are monitoring all these claims and I will reveal them when we have completed the investigations,” he said.
Chairman of the Barisan Backbenchers Club, Datuk Seri Tiong King Sing had claimed that there had been cases of people connected to Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) leaders trying to coerce Barisan Nasional MPs to cross over with offers of “millions of ringgit and cabinet posts”.
PKR’s Information Chief Tian Chua firmly denied such allegations, and said the party had a firm principle and that it would not offer MPs money to cross over.
The opposition coalition, Pakatan Rakyat, needs 31 BN MPs to defect in order to topple the present government. – Bernama
