KUALA LUMPUR – The whole debacle surrounding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and allegations against its top leaders require nothing less than the attention of a royal commission of inquiry (RCI).
This is according to MACC advisory board former chairman Tunku Abdul Aziz Tunku Ibrahim, who is urging for an immediate and independent probe into the anti-graft body.
Speaking with The Vibes, Aziz said the recent allegations of conflict of interest involving chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki made by renowned economist Prof Edmund Terence Gomez have called into question the credibility of the body.
As such, he said the RCI is necessary in order to clear the good name of the commission and identify if there were instances of impropriety.
“First of all, I think Gomez should make a police report if he believes there is a possibility of a cover up within the MACC,” he said yesterday.
But I’m very happy that he has brought it up because I think it is critically important for MACC to be totally clear. If we cannot trust MACC to be clean, just like if we can’t trust police to enforce the law, who can we trust?
“So, I hope something concrete will be done. The government should seriously consider setting up an RCI into this affair, nothing less than that.”
Aziz said he would also be willing to offer his time for free and be part of the RCI if his services is ever needed.
On Monday, Gomez announced his resignation as a member of MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel (PPPR), citing the graft body’s failure to discuss accusations of conflict of interest against its top leaders.
Chiefly, he alleged Azam has diverse business interests and ties with millions of ringgit in public stocks, and that there is a possible conflict of interest in the MACC leadership.
Gomez said multiple emails had been sent to PPPR chairman Tan Sri Borhan Dolah, and the chairman of MACC advisory board Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang, but were ignored, prompting his resignation.
Abu Zahar denied receiving any emails, while Borhan had said the recent email exchanges between the panel and Gomez were not related to Azam.
Gomez, however, called their bluff, and shared the contents and details of the emails that he sent to them with The Vibes, which detailed out his concerns over the allegations against MACC.
Aziz, who is Abu Zahar’s predecessor, said speculations of impropriety involving MACC’s top guns have been around since his time helming MACC’s advisory board, but nothing concrete warranted further investigation.
“There were no open allegations, but there were rumours. But naturally, I cannot act on rumours. I think it wouldn’t be fair to jump to conclusion based on speculations.
“I know there are rumours all the time, but today, Gomez has brought the issue out into the open, and he must have something concrete to be able to do so.”
Aziz also bemoaned how MACC’s advisory board lacks any executive power to take action or issue a direction, calling it useless and toothless.
“I have chaired the board for many years and was a member before that. People must remember the board is purely advisory. This is one of the great failures of the whole MACC set-up,” he said.
Don’t side-track the matter, RCI must probe Azam’s income
Noting the gravity of the allegations raised by Gomez, Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) executive director Cynthia Gabriel similarly called for an RCI spearheaded by the prime minister and comprising esteemed personalities to be set up immediately.
Gabriel said the claims against Azam are extremely serious in nature as it involves the very people who are supposed to be tasked to investigate elements of fraud and wrongdoing.
“As chief commissioner, Azam has to be independent from politics and business. It’s true there is no law to punish conflicts of interest, but it is a very enabling factor in promoting and facilitating corruption.”
Gabriel said the allegation that Azam has millions of ringgit of public shares is also troubling, as this calls his source of income into question .
Furthermore, she said that among other things, the RCI must also ensure it finds out if Azam had declared his assets and income to MACC,, as well as how he has amassed the money to invest millions of ringgit and where the money came from.
On Abu Zahar’s claim that he had not received any email from Gomez, Gabriel said this appears to be a move to distract the public from the actual matter at hand – probing MACC and Azam.
“It’s very disappointing that attention has been taken away from the real substance of the matter, which is the probe demanded by many parties into the anti-graft body.
“We ask Abu Zahar and his advisory board to take this request seriously. The whole function of the board is so that the public can place their trust in these eminent persons to play a role of check and balance.” – The Vibes, January 2, 2022
