KUALA LUMPUR: All 47 Malaysians who were detained in Cambodian and released yesterday are expected to return home tomorrow, according to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The deputy prime minister said she had contacted Julau MP Larry Sng Wei Shien to know the latest developments on the matter and was informed that efforts were made to bring them home tomorrow.
“Insya Allah, if everything goes well, they are expected to arrive tomorrow at 10.30am. There have been various discussions and I thank all those involved for their efforts,” she told reporters after attending a Chinese New Year celebration organised by the Malaysian-China Chambers of Commerce (MCCC), here today.
Wisma Putra, in a statement yesterday, confirmed that all the 47 Malaysians detained in Cambodia’s Banteay Meanchey prison had been released.
According to a statement by the Foreign Ministry on Feb 7, they had been detained since Dec 11 last year on suspicion of involvement in online gambling.
In another development, Dr Wan Azizah welcomed the proposal of the setting up of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) with regard to the allegation of misconduct in the judiciary.
“That (setting up of RCI) is being considered by Tun (Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad). It (the allegation) is not just by anybody, it is by a former judge. So, it is important that we look into it and the setting up of the RCI is a good and appropriate move,” she added.
She said this in response to Dr Mahathir’s statement yesterday that the government will study any proposal to establish an RCI into the claim of judicial misconduct.
On Wednesday (Feb 14), Court of Appeal judge Datuk Dr Hamid mid Sultan Abu Backer, in a 63-page affidavit, revealed explosive and detailed information in relation to numerous incidents of judicial interference within the Malaysian judiciary, including allegations of judicial interference in former Bukit Gelugor MP and DAP chairman, the late Karpal Singh’s sedition appeal decision at the Court of Appeal.
Earlier in her speech at the event, Dr Wan Azizah said the government would continue to encourage young entrepreneurs, emerging industries and the ‘halal’ industry in Malaysia to enter the China market.
“The bilateral trade volume between Malaysia and China hit a record high last year. I will to continue to count on MCCC to promote and strengthen the business cooperation between both countries,” she added. — Bernama
