IN a twist, six members of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board distanced themselves from their chairman’s decision to absolve chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki of any wrongdoing.
“MACC advisory board chairman Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang’s comments was entirely his own views.
“With that, we categorically state that the board members at the meeting or at any time did not express such opinion as Abu Zahar attributed to,” Free Malaysia Today reported them as saying in a joint statement.
Those who signed the statement were Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar, Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Datuk Seri Azman Ujang, Datuk Hamzah Kassim, Datuk David Chua Kok Tee and Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff.
Two days ago, Abu Zahar said that he was satisfied with Azam’s explanation over claims that the latter held substantial shares of a public-listed company, with the latter supposedly being cleared by the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB).
Abu Zahar added Azam had explained that his share trading account was borrowed and utilised by his younger brother, Nasir Baki, to purchase the said shares in 2015. He said all the shares were transferred to Nasir’s account in the same year.
“After a lengthy discussion, the board is satisfied with Azam’s clarification and found that no act of crime was committed.
“We had planned to make our findings public at a given time but unfortunately, the issue was raised earlier by the commission’s former member of the Consultation and Corruption Prevention panel Prof Dr Edmund Terence Gomez. This had shocked me,” The Sun reported him as saying.
However, it is to note that the Securities Commission (SC) is now probing Azam as trading using another person’s account was in fact, a violation of the Section 25 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (SICDA), with Section 29A of SICDA stipulating that all dealings in securities shall be done only by the beneficial owner of the securities or an authorised nominee.
Independent probe on Azam was mooted
If found guilty, Azam could be slapped with fine not exceeding RM2 mil, imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both.
Touching on the matter, the ACAB panel members said that prior to the press conference on Wednesday, they had a discussion with Abu Zahar on the matter.
In the meeting, they had proposed for the case to be referred to an independent committee, the Parliamentary Select Committee on Corruption or the MACC Complaints’ Panel to be investigated.
“But our views were not mentioned by Abu Zahar at the press conference. We must reiterate that the ACAB has no investigation power as we are only an advisory board.
“And we must clarify this to safeguard the integrity of the board and the institution,” they stressed.
On related matter, PKR MP Fahmi Fadzil lashed out at Abu Zahar for taking it upon himself to exonerate Azam from any wrongdoings while his panel members have suggested otherwise.
“This is actually a slap on Abu Zahar’s credibility. Now, he has no choice but to explain the matter with full transparency or resign immediately.
“And from the looks of it, Abu Zahar no longer has any moral standing to continue being the chair of ACAB,” he said. – Jan 8, 2022
