By P. Gunasegaram
If fighting corruption is on the top of the list of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s absolute priorities – and he has said it is – then he has no choice but to remove Azam Baki forthwith as Chief Commissioner of MACC and replace him with someone who has impeccable, unimpeachable credentials.
You cannot have the head of the premier anti-corruption agency being tied with dubious stock market holdings and transactions, accused of slow and selective movement against offenders and questionable actions in the past. Who is going to believe he will do right?
Some of these share transactions Azam engaged in could also be linked to trades done by close Anwar associate Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, as explained by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli. Farhash denied it,
Anwar’s reaction has been nothing short of amazing, shocking even, with the evidence that has already been published. In a spirited defence of Azam he said: “Why should I sack someone who is doing their job?… Read his (Azam’s) explanation.”
The PM’s faith in Azam is unshaken by all this: “This is a sickness. A person is doing their job but you insult them, why? Wrong. Listen to his explanation,” the prime minister told the media briefly two nights ago.
Latest revelation atrocious
The latest revelation by Bloomberg, titled Who’s Watching Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog, on top of the reports of earlier share transactions, is truly atrocious almost beyond belief, alleging that the MACC works with crooks to essentially blackmail companies and individuals.
It describes the modus thus: “A loosely knit group of about half a dozen men work from the same playbook. They operate independently but sometimes join forces. One or more of them appear on the scene, often buying a stake in the target company.
“Then, the MACC starts an investigation of the founders. Their bank accounts are frozen. Often, the executives are suspended from management positions and removed from the board. In some cases, they just quit and sell their shares.”
It was alleged in the report published yesterday the victims were then sometimes induced to sell their shares to the businessmen at knockdown prices, with settlements being made in interrogation rooms of the MACC.
While the MACC has denied allegations to Bloomberg such serious issues (the report claims interviews with at least seven people) have to be investigated. But then, who is to investigate the investigators?
Only the PM can act
Well, the only person who can do that is the prime minister, who effectively appoints the head of MACC. He can remove Azam and then order an investigation into the agency in Azam’s absence.
But inexplicably, and despite promises made by Pakatan Harapan in the last elections that Azam will be removed, Anwar has given him not one, not two but three extensions.
That has come under heavy criticism. If he sits on his hands this time around, the position he takes will become increasingly untenable – a PM who has sworn to fight crime but takes no action against the anti-corruption agency and its head despite clear indications of compromise.
Meanwhile, the shareholding fiasco is escalating further. Malaysiakini reported two days ago that Azam has shares in another company, Awanbiru Technology Bhd, worth over RM1 million.
Malaysiakini’s checks with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) records found that as of Jan 13 this year, Azam had slightly over 4.52 million shares in Awanbiru Technology Berhad or a 1.08 percent stake valued at RM1.38 million as at Jan 13.
Curiously, when it was checked at 9 am on 11 Feb two days ago, there was a listing of the records for that amount under his name. But by 5 pm the same day, it was no longer there. How could that have happened? Clear indication of a possible cover-up which deserves another investigation.
On Feb 10, a Bloomberg report, verified by Malaysiakini, said that Azam had bought 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Bhd.
Exceeding ownership limits
“The shares are worth close to RM800,000 as of the opening of trade today, far in excess of the limits placed on civil servants, where they cannot buy more than RM100,000 worth of shares in any single company,” Malaysiakini reported.
Azam said he has made the appropriate disclosures to the relevant authorities but did not address the question of exceeding the limit imposed by regulations governing civil servants.
There are other compelling questions to answer. Those two transactions alone can involve more than RM2 million worth of funds. How did the chief of MACC get that much money? No answer.
And even if he had that much money, how is it that he is involved in share trading, a direct conflict in financial investigations involving especially share transactions? Isn’t his position badly compromised? No answer.
Not the first time
This is not the first time Azam has been involved in share scandals. In 2021, PKR MP R Sivarasa said in Parliament he was informed that Azam, between 2015 and 2016 as MACC’s investigation director, became the owner of 930,000 shares in Gets Global Bhd as at April 30, 2015, and a further 1,029,000 shares as at March 31, 2016.
Sivarasa claimed Azam, as at March 21, 2016, also owned 2,156,000 warrants in public listed Excel Force MSC Bhd, while his younger brother, identified as Nasir Baki, owned 3,728,000 shares in Gets Global.
“Section 23 of Service Circular 3/2002 prevents a public servant from owning more than RM 100,000 value of shares in any company.”
Azam claimed it was his brother who used his account and was subsequently exonerated by an MACC investigation. The Securities Commission found that the account was under Azam’s control at all times.
That’s not all. In December 2015 at the height of the 1MDB crisis, it was reported that an MACC team led by its investigation division director then, none other than Azam Baki, met with the donor who made a contribution of RM2.6 billion as a political donation to then PM now felon Najib Razak.
Court testimony and judgements subsequently have put paid to this story and the question of whether it is true that Azam indeed met the donor has never been answered by him. If it is untrue, Azam is already unfit to be MACC chief.
For much of these allegations and facts against Azam, there is no valid, cogent defence forthcoming from Azam.
There is no longer any excuse for Anwar to keep Azam on given the weight of evidence that warrants at the very least an independent investigation during which Azam cannot continue as the MACC chief.
If Anwar keeps him on nevertheless the already low confidence in his leadership will sink even lower – members and MPs of PKR and partner parties will lose confidence and faith in him.
And yes, the chances of him retaining leadership of a winning coalition at the next polls will wane considerably as public disillusionment over his leadership continues to mount. Can’t Anwar see these things? Why is he so blind?
P Gunasegaram has full faith in the old adage which says: There are none so blind as those who will not see.
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