Johari said Awang’s claim was erroneous, citing MACC’s denial of the PAS MP’s statement.
“He has a choice … either offer an explanation if there is proof that MACC was wrong or just apologise.
“It’s up to him,” Johari said in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Awang was not present at the time.
RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) insisted, however, that Awang should be hauled before the rights and privileges committee and punished for making the “slanderous” statement.
Opposition chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan (PN-Kota Bharu) then asked for the committee to set a date for “negotiations” to be held with Awang to settle the matter amicably.
On Monday, Awang said MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki had “officially” stated that the agency had discovered RM94 million in cash at the former minister’s home.
MACC later said neither Azam nor the commission had made any statement regarding the discovery of the said amount.
Rayer and former human resources minister V Sivakumar (PH-Batu Gajah) have since filed motions for Awang to be referred to the rights and privileges committee.
Sivakumar, who was the human resources minister from December 2022 to December 2023, said Awang’s claim insinuated that he was referring to him.
Sivakumar’s ministry was the subject of an MACC probe into the recruitment of foreign workers in 2023, with three of the DAP deputy secretary-general’s aides arrested and later released.
He had sacked five of his aides after the investigation, before he was dropped from the Cabinet.
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