MACC chief commissioner Abu Kassim Mohamed admitted that the investigation into the matter was carried out barely an hour after a report was lodged with the commission.

This is the first time that Abu Kassim has revealed that the prime minister'€™s wife was probed over the alleged purchase of the ring, reported Sin Chiew Daily.

'€œWhat I want to say is: we have even probed the Prime Minister'€™s wife. Do you think we still have anything to be afraid of?'€ he said during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a pledge to fight graft involving Sabah state assemblymen in Kota Kinabalu on Tuesday.

He said two hours after a report was received on the matter, commission officers had called Najib to query him about the matter.

Investigations, he said, found that the ring entered Malaysia through Singapore and was subsequently confirmed by the Customs Department to have been sent back to a New York-based jewellery company.

During his speech, he also urged politicians who have proof of someone committing graft to approach the commission instead of the press.

He said exposing perpetrators to the public would only make it easier for them to wiggle out of the clutches of the law.

Abu Kassim also revealed that the commission had approached parties from both sides of the political divide last week, proposing to make amendments to the constitution, giving the commission more autonomy to carry out investigations.

The signing of the MoU was witnessed by 60 Sabah state assemblymen. It was the first state to pledge fighting graft with the commission. (***)

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