PETALING JAYA: A DAP MP insists that a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) should be formed to investigate allegations levelled against the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief commissioner, Azam Baki.
In a statement, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok said an RCI would be better than the multi-agency probe ordered by the government as it would provide greater transparency, accountability and credibility.
“When the investigation concerns allegations touching on MACC itself, a process in which executive agencies – all ultimately accountable to the Cabinet – are tasked with examining one another inevitably raises the spectre of conflict of interest.
“Even if such agencies conduct their work diligently, the structure of the inquiry alone risks undermining public confidence in its outcome.
“An RCI, by design, is intended to provide a forum that is independent, transparent and publicly accountable, particularly when allegations involve senior public officials or key institutions of state,” she said.
The six-term MP said an RCI was not punitive, yet it remained the most credible mechanism to investigate controversies of this scale.
“An independent RCI would not weaken the government but instead strengthen public confidence that the administration remains committed to the very principles of openness, accountability and integrity that it once so strongly championed.
“A government that built its moral authority on promises of reform and transparency must be especially careful not to appear as though it is retreating from those principles once entrusted with power,” said Kok.
Yesterday, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the Cabinet had instructed the police, Securities Commission, MACC and Inland Revenue Board to investigate claims that MACC officials were involved in manoeuvres to force company takeovers.
This followed a Bloomberg report alleging that certain MACC officers provided intimidation “services” such as raids and investigations to pressure executives in targeted companies into selling shares, thus forcing company takeovers.
Fahmi also said the chief secretary to the government would take “further action” on Azam after a special government committee completed its probe into shareholding allegations involving the MACC chief.
DAP leaders, including ministers Loke Siew Fook and Gobind Singh Deo, have repeatedly urged the government to form an RCI to probe the allegations against MACC and Azam.
Kok questioned Putrajaya’s reluctance to form an RCI, saying it was puzzling when such calls had come from across the political divide and even from civil society groups and governance advocates.
She said the main issue was not Azam’s fate or MACC’s reputation but public confidence in public institutions.
“In circumstances where allegations are serious and involve the nation’s premier anti corruption body, only a process that is manifestly independent and openly conducted can dispel doubts,” said the political veteran.
She said if the government, MACC and Azam had nothing to hide, then there should be no issues with allowing an independent RCI to investigate the allegations.
