KUALA LUMPUR – DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang has called for Tan Sri Azam Baki’s termination as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner if he continues to evade the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department.
Lim, in prompting Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob to act upon the matter, said Azam must answer to the recent allegations of conflict of interest against him, or have him terminated as MACC chief.
“Azam should publicly explain why he is afraid of appearing before the PSC on Agencies in the Prime Minister’s Department in response to allegations made against him, affecting his commitment to integrity,” Lim wrote in a statement today.
The Iskandar Puteri MP suggested Ismail Sabri discuss the ultimatum for Azam at the next cabinet meeting, and for the prime minister to initiate constitutional amendments that will see the MACC fall under the purview of the Parliament instead of the Prime Minister’s Department.
“Ismail Sabri should present this proposal for cabinet approval at the cabinet meeting tomorrow… or will there be no cabinet meeting tomorrow?
It is long overdue to transfer MACC out of Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department to be directly responsible to Parliament, which is a major step towards restoring public trust and confidence in MACC as a meaningful instrument to fight corruption.”
Lim also managed to question Ismail Sabri and his government’s deafening silence over allegations brought against Azam, saying their actions, or lack thereof, will only perpetuate negative perceptions against the administration’s integrity.
“Prime Minister Ismail Sabri’s silence for over two months on an issue concerning the accountability, transparency and integrity of MACC and its officers is a ‘black mark’ on the Ismail Sabri government, highlighting not only its lack of seriousness in the fight against corruption, but a weak government where the prime minister and the ministers are afraid of public officers,” he said.
This comes a day after Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang told The Vibes of his intention to clear the air in a would-be tell-all tomorrow over allegations of conflicts of interest related to Azam.
This was after MACC panel member Prof Edmund Terence Gomez’s allegations of the commission supposedly looking to cover up Azam’s alleged wrongdoings, saying there was a “shroud of secrecy” around the topic.
Gomez accused Abu Zahar and Borhan of being reluctant to investigate the issue transparently.
In response, Abu Zahar had claimed that Gomez had never tried to contact him or his administration regarding the problem pertaining to Azam.
He added that Gomez’s accusations against him had instead tarnished his integrity.
Meanwhile, Borhan claimed that Gomez’s emails had never named Azam as the individual with alleged business interests.
However, Gomez had revealed to The Vibes a series of emails detailing his efforts to address the issue to Borhan and Abu Zahar, and called both of their bluffs.
Gomez resigned from the MACC panel on December 27 last year after claiming that his complaints and request to meet to discuss the Azam fiasco had fallen on deaf ears. – The Vibes, January 4, 2022
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