KUALA LUMPUR – Consultation and Corruption Panel (PPPR) chairman Tan Sri Borhan Dolah said recent email exchanges between the panel and its disgruntled former member and renowned economist Prof Edmund Terence Gomez were not related to the latter’s dissatisfaction with Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki.
Borhan told Berita Harian yesterday that the two emails sent by Gomez since November did not touch on any alleged wrongdoings by Azam.
Instead, Borhan said, Gomez had only stated his concerns about MACC facing a barrage of criticisms from several quarters and called for the panel to convene an immediate meeting to help resolve the agency’s woes.
“I responded by saying that I will consider the matter and had immediately contacted MACC’s secretariat to gain its views because the matter is outside PPPR’s jurisdiction,” Borhan was quoted as saying.
“But suddenly he (Gomez) had resigned and raised the issue to make it appear as though my community (panel) did not care about the allegations against the chief commissioner.”
Yesterday, Gomez stepped down as a member of the panel, claiming a failure to discuss accusations of conflict of interest against some of its leaders.
The academic told The Vibes that the anti-graft body must be investigated, seeing that some of its leaders have been implicated in a few articles reported by online portal Independent News Service.
“An urgent investigation is required by an independent body to ensure that MACC is led by officers of good repute,” Gomez said when asked about his resignation.
In his resignation letter to Borhan, Gomez raised his concern that there was a “nexus between business and law enforcement” and a “conflict of interest” allegedly involving members of its top leadership.
He said that the reports raise disturbing questions of whether these individuals had declared their extensive ownership of corporate stock, as required by law.
“Equally disturbing is these reports’ further claim that a former MACC chief commissioner was involved in a conflict-of-interest situation, suggesting a trend in this institution that must be investigated promptly,” said Gomez.
Borhan, who is also a former Public Service Department director-general, said Gomez should understand the duties and functions of the panel, which serves as a committee that makes recommendations on the implementation of community programmes for corruption awareness.
He said Gomez should raise the allegations with the present department director-general Datuk Mohd Khairul Adib Abd Rahman if he has found any alleged misconduct committed by Azam, instead of reporting it to PPPR, which has no jurisdiction over the matter.
“In fact, apart from PPPR, there are several other mechanisms created to act as MACC’s check-and-balance, such as the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chaired by Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang and the Special Committee on Corruption,” Borhan said. – The Vibes, December 28, 2021
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