Fearing he could suffer the same fate as the missing woman who was allegedly abducted on her way to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) two months ago, the whistleblower who released shocking video clips implicating top Sabah politicians including the chief minister in a bribery scandal, lodged a police report today.
The man, who wore a mask to conceal his identity and was previously identified by his lawyers as “Albert”, filed the report with the Petaling Jaya police seeking protection.
Lawyer Latheefa Koya said that while Albert had filed a similar report last year over threats he received in the wake of his expose, this time his fear was more real following the disappearance of Pamela Ling, a witness in an ongoing corruption case being investigated by MACC.
“It became so real when someone like Pamela Ling is abducted based on the reports we read, so it’s a real thing that can happen. There is a possibility that these things can happen,” she said.
Ling went missing on April 9 as she was travelling in an e-hailing vehicle to the MACC headquarters in Putrajaya.
A missing person report was lodged with the police the same day.
It was reported that the Grab driver of Ling’s ride had lodged a police report stating that she had been abducted by people who identified themselves as police, and that he had been forced to mark the ride as “complete”.
The 42-year-old is the former wife of Sarawak businessman Hah Tiing Siu. Both have been through a controversial divorce in Singapore and Malaysia involving a substantial estate.
MACC said it had launched a probe into graft and money laundering offences involving the couple, adding that Ling had not cooperated. However, Ling accused MACC of using anti-money laundering law to pressure her to resolve her disputes with her ex-husband.
Latheefa, who is also the former MACC chief, said that with the submission of today’s report, the police will be able to act more effectively in the event that Albert went missing.
“If anything happens to him, police would know how to process with investigation. If he disappears, they must assume that something bad has happened to him and take immediate action.
“He needs every type of protection. Right now, when someone is abducted where to look for or who is involved,” she said.
Last year, Albert received a death threat in the form of images of the assassination of Shinzo Abe, the former Japanese prime minister who was shot dead in broad daylight while campaigning for elections in 2022.
In late 2024, news portal Malaysiakini published a series of video recordings it obtained from Albert, a businessman who is involved in a project in Sabah. The clips showed state assemblymen discussing bribes ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions of ringgit.
Despite his letter to Anwar Ibrahim seeking protection as a whistleblower before lodging a report with MACC, the prime minister turned down the request, saying such a protection was only applicable for individuals who were “clean”.
This was followed by MACC chief Azam Baki stating that the videos were “edited” and therefore not credible enough to be admitted as evidence.
On March 11, however, Latheefa announced that she had received the full and unedited version of the clips, telling MACC that its excuse was no longer valid.
The clips were later handed over to MACC by Zaid Malek from rights group Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).
Speaking to reporters today, Latheefa said there had been no updates from MACC more than two months after the evidence was handed over.
“They have given everything, the audio recordings, over 300 pages of documents and transaction details. There’s nothing more to give. MACC should actually start calling up people identified in the videos,” she said.
Meanwhile, another LFL lawyer, Mahajoth Singh said Albert had been questioned several times by MACC, and had provided additional evidence to investigators last month.