KUALA LUMPUR – Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo has called on the attorney-general to explain why the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and the Securities Commission (SC) are conducting simultaneous investigations against each other.
The DAP deputy chairman questioned the efficacy of the investigations, pointing out that the two probes by the enforcement agencies concern high-ranking individuals.
It was reported that SC will call in MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki over his admission that his trading account was used in the purchase of shares. In dismissing allegations of conflict of interest on his part, he had reasoned that it was used for the purpose by his brother.
On January 8, Criminal Investigation Department director Datuk Seri Abd Jalil Hassan said that a police report lodged on the matter had been referred to SC for further action. SC would then need to factor in the police report as it calls in parties involved in the recent debacle.
Meanwhile, a few days later on January 11, MACC said it had received complaints concerning SC’s higher management and a probe is underway.
“It would appear that SC and MACC are probing individuals in each other,” Gobind said in a Facebook posting.
He called upon Attorney-General Tan Sri Idrus Harun to state if there is a possibility of a conflict of interest that could cause investigations to be seen as compromised.
He highlighted that Azam is still MACC’s chief, and is responsible for the control and supervision of his agency.
However, given that the complaints against SC involve individuals in higher management, Gobind questioned if they have a say in how investigations are run as well.
“Would the attorney-general find investigations in such circumstances inspiring?
“He must also accept that in the event a case does proceed to court as a consequence of these investigations, these would become matters of concern which may have an impact on the trial.
“The attorney-general must speak up and explain. Is this proper and if not, what has he done to deal with it?”
The controversy escalated after political economist Prof Edmund Terence Gomez resigned as a member of MACC’s consultative and corruption prevention panel over the alleged conflict of interest.
Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang had claimed at a press conference on January 5 that the board was satisfied with the explanation given by Azam on the issue of his procurement of shares, adding that it found no criminal elements involving the MACC chief or conflict of interest.
He had asserted that the board had conducted a meeting with Azam on November 24 last year to seek an explanation on the allegations that have since plagued the anti-graft body.
According to Abu Zahar, Azam had said the purchase of millions of ringgit of shares of a public listed company supposedly bought by him was actually done by his brother, Datuk Nasir Baki, using his share-trading account.
However, in a joint statement on January 8, six members of the board denied having expressed such an opinion, saying that Abu Zahar’s comments were his own “personal view”. – The Vibes, January 16, 2022
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