Govt to investigate suspected Idris Haron and Ismail Sabri audio clip

Malaysia – The Ministry of Communications and Multimedia will probe into a leaked audio tape purporting to be between Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and former Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron.

Its deputy minister Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin said that investigations would focus on finding the individual who recorded and released the audio recording, with telecom firms not being exempted.

He said that they will examine if telecommunications firms were engaged in the recording effort, in order for the minister to determine whether telco businesses were involved in the attempt to capture these talks.

He also mentioned that this occurred to Datuk Seri Najib [Razak], then to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, and now to the prime minister, and this is a very humiliating situation.

“So, we don’t want this to happen in the future, and we’re going to find a method to avoid what was stated,” he stated after attending the UMNO Supreme Council meeting at their headquarters.

Zahidi stated that the Ministry of Communications and Multimedia had yet to file a police complaint, before stating that the inquiry will not be a witch hunt for a specific person.

According to him, they will do an investigation but there is no need to arrest anybody since catching someone would be tough from the standpoint of a court trial and involving the AG, and we want to prevent this occurring in the future.

This follows the recent release of tape purportedly involving Ismail and Idris, in which Idris explains to the prime minister the political environment in Melaka that resulted in the fall of the government.

In the eight-minute long audio clip, a voice like Idris stated that UMNO would not get adequate support for the forthcoming elections due to the interim chief minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali’s “lack of leadership skills.”

Idris reportedly said that Sulaiman was subordinate to Melaka UMNO liaison head and former Melaka state legislative assembly speaker Datuk Seri Ab Rauf Yusoh, rather than leading the charge as chief minister.

The need for a new Melaka administration, the third in as many years, was sparked by four assemblymen withdrawing their support for UMNO’s Sulaiman, thus leading him to lose his majority. The Election Commission has yet to declare if elections will be conducted, but is scheduled to convene on Monday to deliberate on the issue.