Former Petaling Jaya MP Kua Kia Soong has questioned the status of a corruption investigation involving former Kuala Langat MP Xavier Jayakumar, saying there has been no public confirmation on whether the case resulted in charges, a conviction or clearance.
Kua said the lack of clarity had created an accountability gap and raised questions about the credibility of institutions responsible for investigating corruption.
‘If the investigation produced evidence of criminal wrongdoing, why was there no prosecution?’ he said in a statement today.
‘If investigators concluded that there was insufficient evidence, why was the public not clearly told that the case had been closed?
‘And if the investigation remains open, why has it apparently remained unresolved for so long?’
Questions raised after Xavier’s return to PKR
Kua’s remarks came after Xavier recently confirmed his return to PKR, five years after leaving the party while it was still in the opposition.
After quitting PKR, Xavier supported the administration of then prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin as an independent.
In 2022, he joined Parti Bangsa Malaysia, but did not disclose his reasons for leaving PKR or joining the new party.
At the time of his resignation from PKR, Xavier was under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission following the arrest of his close associate, M A Thinagaran.
Thinagaran was detained by MACC on suspicion of accepting bribes from several companies for a project awarded to them by the water, land and natural resources ministry in 2019, when Xavier was the minister in charge under the former Pakatan Harapan administration.
It was last publicly reported in March 2022 that the anti-graft agency’s investigation into Xavier was still ongoing.
Kua calls for institutional clarity
Kua acknowledged that the investigation began under Muhyiddin’s administration and that Anwar Ibrahim’s government was not responsible for initiating it.
However, he said this did not absolve the current administration from ensuring institutional clarity.
‘An independent anti-corruption agency should be able to say, where legally permissible, whether an investigation remains active, has been closed, or has resulted in prosecution,’ he said.
‘Keeping a politically sensitive corruption investigation in a state of indefinite ambiguity does little to strengthen public confidence.’
Call for Xavier to explain PKR exit
Kua also urged Xavier to explain the circumstances surrounding his departure from PKR, citing previous allegations by former PKR leaders that pressure from MACC had contributed to his decision.
‘The Xavier affair, therefore, represents something larger than one former politician,’ he said.
