KUALA LUMPUR – Politicians have made general enquiries about the status of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission investigations, but never interfered in the outcome, said Datuk Seri Azam Baki.
He gave an assurance that this has been the case since he took on the post of MACC chief.
“I cannot deny that there are those who often ask (about the status of a probe). It is illogical for me to deny that they ask about these things.
“I often interact with ministers and other politicians. Despite their queries, I assure everyone that they (queries) won’t influence MACC’s investigations.
“While we investigate cases, it is up to the attorney-general whether to charge them (suspects),” he told an interview on TVAlHijrah’s Analisis: Barah Lama @ Polemik Baru? programme yesterday.
To the host’s question on political intervention, Azam called on those making such claims to substantiate their allegations.
Pakatan Harapan has alleged that the Perikatan Nasional administration utilised several enforcement agencies, including MACC, to hound its political rivals.
The opposition coalition also claimed that the defections of Julau MP Larry Sng, Steven Choong (Tebrau) and Datuk Xavier Jayakumar (Kuala Langat), who have declared support for Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and the PN administration, were due to the pressure of investigations by several agencies.
In the case of Xavier, his defection allegedly stemmed from an MACC probe into his aides.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim previously said his party’s MPs for Sekijang, Padang Serai, Sg Siput, Putatan and Miri were threatened and enticed to defect to PN.
Azam acknowledged that corruption is happening at an alarming rate in the country, but said it has yet to reach a critical level.
In general, he said, civil servants nabbed for graft are usually those in senior positions, such as the Jusa C and Jusa B grades, and financially comfortable.
This goes to show that greed was their main motive, he said.
“No matter how good the system put in place to tackle corruption is, it is impossible to make it successful if there is no integrity.
“There are many reasons why there is corruption from those days until now. It is because there will always be space and opportunities to fuel one’s greed.
“Based on MACC’s experience, we can say almost all cases happen not due to desperation, but greed.” – The Vibes, April 15, 2021
