Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos insisted that he never intended to flee from the police. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

KUALA LUMPUR, May 29 — Datuk Seri Jamal Yunos, who absconded before his bail was complete five days ago, said he will meet with the police tomorrow to clarify the “misunderstanding” that led to his “escape” from custody.

The Sungai Besar Umno division chief insisted that he never intended to flee from the police.

“As if I escaped from remand, from the police custody; actually this did not happen, it was just a minor misunderstanding as I have stated previously,” he said when trying to clarify the matter.

“So to resolve this crisis, tomorrow I will be present at the IPD Ampang Jaya around 2pm or 2.30pm. So I hope the media can attend or provide coverage of my statement to resolve the crisis,” he said in a minute-long audio clip that was made available to reporters today.

Jamal’s audio clip was accompanied by an invitation to a press conference tomorrow at 2.30pm at the Ampang Jaya district police headquarters.

Jamal, who was under remand and in police custody at the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, went missing last Friday before his bail could be posted for several offences that he was charged with.

Jamal, who is also known as the leader of the so-called “Red Shirts”, was charged on Friday with committing public nuisance by smashing bottles of alcoholic drinks in front of the Selangor State Secretariat building in Shah Alam last October 5.

Bail was set at RM3,000 after Jamal was charged in the morning at the Ampang Puteri Specialist Hospital, but the Umno man was missing at 5.30pm when a Shah Alam Court assistant registrar arrived at his ward to complete the bail process.

The police then launched a manhunt for Jamal in an operation called “Ops Tutup” and instructed him to return and complete the bail process.

Jamal’s lawyer, Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin, said on Sunday that there might have been a “misunderstanding”, noting that his client had thought the bail process was complete when he left the hospital.

Asserting that Jamal did not flee, Mohd Imran had also noted that his client had yet to fully recover, and would appear in court to complete the bail process and cooperate with the police when he has recovered.

In a brief audio clip on Sunday, Jamal claimed he left the hospital on Friday afternoon as he believed his remand had expired.

He claimed he needed to visit Lembaga Tabung Haji to withdraw money from his pilgrimage funds to pay for costs such as those incurred during his remand.