Is former AG Gani Patail a free man, and if so, why he could not appear in public to explain truth or otherwise of alleged draft corruption charge sheet against Najib?

The newly-minted Attorney-General Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali has dismissed the purported draft of a corruption charge sheet against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak published on whistleblower website Sarawak Report as false.

When the new Attorney-General could not say a simple “Yes” or “No” whether Gani, who had served as Attorney-General for nearly 13 years and was only about two months away from Oct. 6 when he is reaches 60 years and mandatory retirement, was summarily sacked as AG on Tuesday on July 28, 2015, Apandi is telling all Malaysians that he is capable of varnishing the truth, quibbling and equivocating instead of telling “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth”!

Under these circumstances, Apandi’s denial must be taken with a pinch of salt until and unless he could produce the former AG, Gani Patail, to publicly explain the circumstances and the truth or otherwise of the draft corruption charge sheet against Najib.

The Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Ali Hamsa said on Tuesday that Gani’s service as the Attorney-General had been terminated effective July 27 due to health reasons, but he would continue to serve as Judicial and Legal Service Officer until his mandatory retirement on Oct 6 this year.

So what is the problem of Apandi appearing with Gani for the former Attorney-General to explain the truth or otherwise of the draft corruption charge sheet against the Prime Minister – unless Gani is not prepared to appear in public to make such a statement or Gani is no more a free man to make such a public appearance.

Whatever the position, the Malaysian public is entitled to “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” about the position of the country’s Attorney-General for nearly 13 years, and his whereabouts after his sacking as Attorney-General, in particular whether Gani is still head of the multi-agency Special Task Force investigating the 1MDB and Wall Street Journal allegations, or whether Apandi has taken over Gani’s position in the Special Task Force or whether the Special Task Force has died a premature death.

I stand by my statement yesterday that Apandi’s denial about the alleged draft corruption charge against the Prime Minister lacks conviction and credibility.

Let Gani appear in the public to explain whether there is any basis in the Sarawak Report exclusive about the purported charge sheet against the Prime Minister for corruption as Gani is still in the legal and judicial service.

Surely, Gani has not disappeared into thin air since his sudden, summary and shocking sacking as Attorney-General on Tuesday morning, after he answered press phone query to express his surprise and ignorance at the termination of his tenure.

Surely, Malaysia has not become a modern-day Stalinist Kremlin where a person could suddenly become a non-person and disappear into the Gulag archipelago?

The ball is in Apandi’s court.