Malaysiakini Reporter Lodges Report Against Pakistani Agent Over Bribe

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Malaysiakini journalist B Nantha Kumar today lodged a police report against a Pakistani agent who handed him an envelope containing cash last Friday and caused his subsequent arrest by the MACC.
In a report lodged at the Dang Wangi police headquarters sighted by Malaysiakini, Nantha denied that he solicited or accepted any bribe from the agent, whom he identified as Zahid.
Instead, the journalist said it was Zahid who tried to buy him off, and that he took the envelope given by the agent for the purpose of collecting “proof” against a migrant worker trafficking syndicate that allegedly involves Zahid.
“When I met him about 11.10pm at the Concorde Hotel in Shah Alam to discuss my investigation into Zahid’s (alleged) ‘Fly’ Syndicate, he passed me a brown envelope in an attempt to persuade me to cooperate with him in the syndicate.
“I had taken the envelope as evidence to prove that he tried to bribe me. This was because I had been asked by a state immigration director to help the department in collecting any form of evidence against several Pakistanis whom they suspect were involved in fly syndicate activities.
“However, before I could report Zahid’s action to the Immigration Department, I was arrested by the MACC on the spot and later remanded for four days on accusation that I was taking bribes.
“I hereby deny that I have ever solicited or taken any bribe. On the contrary, it was Zahid who wanted to bribe me in the incident,” Nantha said in the report, which he lodged at about 5pm today.
The “Fly” syndicate refers to a scheme that falsifies immigration status, clearing overstayers or blacklisted individuals by using fake exit and entry stamps.
Adding further, Nantha urged the police to investigate Zahid’s background as the agent allegedly confessed that he was previously jailed in Malaysia over a human trafficking offence.
The reporter raised a question on Zahid being allowed to stay in the country, supposedly on a professional visa, if it was true that he had been convicted.
“I lodged this report to urge the police to conduct a thorough investigation on this incident and on Zahid’s background,” he said.
Nantha also attached a copy of a Malaysiakini article published yesterday, where he wrote his account of the Feb 28 incident.
Nantha was accused of receiving RM20,000 from an agent dealing with migrant workers, in exchange for not publishing two articles that would expose the cartel.
He was released on Tuesday after being held under remand for four days.
Nantha has worked with Malaysiakini since 2018 and has written extensively about immigration syndicates, including those involving the Immigration Department. - Mkini

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