PUTRAJAYA: About 70 people staged a protest outside the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) headquarters here today over the shareholding allegations involving the agency’s chief commissioner, Azam Baki.
The protesters, dressed mostly in black, gathered at 10am amid a police presence, calling for Azam’s resignation and arrest to assist with investigations into the allegations, which were highlighted in a Bloomberg report.
Those present included politicians, civil society members like representatives from the Teoh Beng Hock Association for Democratic Advancement, and controversial businessman Albert Tei, who is standing trial for corruption.
Sungai Buloh PAS chief Zaharudin Muhammad, the son-in-law of PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, also joined the protest.
In a speech, Zaharudin asked how Azam could have acquired the shares with his salary as a civil servant, claiming this was “impossible”.
He also said that no action appeared to have been taken, asking if this would be the case if it involved other figures.
“If it were an (offence involving an) ordinary person, I think he would have been arrested within three days. But until today, there has been no investigation and no arrest,” he said.
Earlier this month, Bloomberg reported that Azam held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, or 1.7%, based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.
It also reported that his name was still in the company’s shareholder register maintained by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Azam was alleged to have breached a 2024 government circular limiting civil servants’ shareholdings in Malaysian-incorporated companies to no more than 5% of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.
However, the MACC chief said he had declared the transaction while the shares were disposed of last year, maintaining that everything had been above board.
The government has formed a special task force led by Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar to probe the allegations, while the cops are investigating Bloomberg for criminal defamation.
Bloomberg also ran another story claiming that certain MACC officials were part of a “corporate mafia” involved in company takeovers, which the agency has denied.
Zaharudin said the allegations were substantive and that the “corporate mafia” allegation could threaten the country’s economic security.
He proposed reforming MACC by giving Parliament the authority to appoint its chief commissioner, and for state directors to be elected to ensure accountability.
Activist Syarul Ema Rena Abu Samah, also known as Ratu Naga, questioned the apparent double standard between ordinary citizens and leaders.
“When it involves ordinary citizens, action is taken quickly, but when it involves government officials from agencies we expect to be honest, the same action does not happen,” she said, urging the government to act against Azam.
Separately, Selangor Urimai chairman K Gunasekaran said Bloomberg was a credible source and that the issue had affected public confidence in MACC.
“MACC has a leader who cannot be trusted. That is a national problem,” he said.
This is the second protest against Azam following the recent allegations. The first was held in Kuala Lumpur with the participation of nearly 200 people including PKR MPs Rafizi Ramli, Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Wong Chen.
