“Azam Baki case: Confusions galore, independent inquiry a must”

WE, the undersigned civil society organisations, regret the recent statement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on the allegations surrounding Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki. The prime minister seems to have dismissed the ongoing controversy.

The Securities Commission (SC) has stated that the shares trading account is managed by Azam himself, contradicting his own earlier press statement mentioning the account was used by his brother to avoid a conflict of interest.

However, the SC should clarify whether any shares in Azam trading account were purchased and paid by his brother. If so, there should be a document executed by Azam authorising his brother to use his trading account.

If this is true, then Azam, who at the material time in 2015 held the position of MACC investigation director, had purchased shares above RM100,000 in amount, which contravenes Government rules as the following:

• Section 23 of the Service Circular Number 3/2002 – Ownership and Declaration of Assets by Public Officials. This circular, alongside all Government circulars are binding on all civil servants employed under the Public Services Department to regulate their conduct.
• Section 10 of the Public Officers Regulations Act (Conduct and Discipline) 1993 clearly stipulates the requirement for civil servants to declare any purchase of shares to their head of department.

Up to now, there has been no confirmation as to whether or not the mandatory asset declaration was carried out.

If Azam had in fact breached a Government circular, action must be taken. In the interest of public accountability, it is important that the Government clarifies the appropriate agency that is responsible for apprehending civil servants who has breached a Government circular, whether it is the Public Services Commission or the Public Services Department.

If no consequences are forthcoming out of this case, we strongly call for proper procedures to be put in place so that there is greater clarity over which government body is responsible to monitor the adherence to such rules and action to be taken if the rule was breached.

We also repeat the call for an independent inquiry into Azam’s purchase of shares as this also raises serious questions with regards to any conflict of interest in the purchase of shares by the highest-ranking member of the nation’s anti-corruption body.

To uphold MACC’s integrity and to restore public trust in the anti-corruption body, Azam must step aside temporarily until an independent inquiry can conclusively prove, beyond any reasonable doubt, that he did not breach any regulations as a bearer of public office.

The 2015 proposal recommendations to reform the MACC and make it more independent made by IDEAS, the Malaysian Bar, the Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4), and Transparency International, in addition to implementing the National Anti-Corruption Plan, must be prioritised to not only improve the MACC’s capabilities but also prevent such detrimental incidents like the ongoing Azam’s case from occurring again in the future. – Jan 23, 2022.