KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s opposition leadership has urged for an independent investigation on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki and advisory board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang over the controversy surrounding the former’s share ownership.
In a press statement on Friday (Jan 7), the Pakatan Harapan (PH) presidential council said that the investigation, which should be done by an independent body with no ties to MACC, is to establish whether laws have been broken over Mr Azam’s ownership of shares in a publicly-listed company.
PH said that the controversy arising from Mr Azam’s disclosure over his acquisition of millions of shares had compromised the integrity and credibility of the anti-graft body.
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Mr Azam claimed that he had allowed his brother to use his share trading account to buy the shares.
“We are unable to accept the chief commissioner and the advisory board chairman’s statements on Jan 6 (Thursday), as the chief commissioner’s statement shows that there was possibility that laws have been broken and there was conflict of interest involving the chief commissioner’s account which was used to purchase millions of shares for his brother,”said PH’s statement.
“A more open and thorough investigation should be conducted as this involves the purchase of shares worth millions of ringgit in Bursa-listed companies,” it added.
PH also called into question Mr Abu Zahar’s easy acceptance of Mr Azam’s explanation regarding the shares purchase.
Mr Abu Zahar said on Wednesday that the advisory board had found no criminal conduct or conflict of interest on Mr Azam’s part in the share trading.
PH’s statement also said that Prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob should not remain silent on the matter and as leader of the Lower House, he should call for a special parliamentary session to explain the true situation regarding Mr Azam’s shares issue.
“He also needs to explain how the management and administration of the MACC had deteriorated, that cases which ruined the institution’s image could take place,” aid the opposition leaders, referring to the alleged involvement of MACC officers in the misappropriation of RM25 million (US$ 5.9 million) and a robbery involving RM700,000.
Besides investigating the current chief commissioner, any independent investigation should also look into previous chief commissioners who had served before, the statement added.
The statement was jointly issued by Mr Anwar Ibrahim, who leads Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), together with Lim Guan Eng, Mr Mohamad Sabu and Mr Madius Tangau from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) and United Kinabalu Progressive Organisation (UPKO) respectively.
Mr Azam said on Thursday that he would cooperate with Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC), which regulates securities trading, after the SC asked him for an explanation on the use of his share trading account.
The SC said it would ask Mr Azam to explain the statements he had made, adding that under the law, every securities account and all related dealings must be carried out in the name of the account's beneficial owner or an authorised nominee.
Mr Azam has been facing calls to explain allegations that he owned millions of shares in two public listed companies in 2015 and 2016.
Although Malaysian public officials are allowed to hold corporate shares, they must declare their assets every five years.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/asi...-graft-officials-over-share-ownership-2421121
