MINISTER in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said that the issue of share ownership of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has been resolved.
He was responding to a parliamentary question from Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng who had asked about the status of the investigation and the number of agencies involved in the investigation.
According to Wan Junaidi the Securities Commission (SC) had decided that there was no case while Azam had been grilled by three different MACC committees – namely the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB), the special committee on corruption (JKMR) and the complaints committee (JKA) – regarding the matter.
“There is no need for the issue of the MACC chief’s share ownership to be disputed. The MACC chief has also taken legal action against those who have slandered him and the case is in the courts. Any comments on this case would be sub judice,” Wan Junaidi said in his written reply.
“The government does not protect or take action against certain individuals simply to satisfy certain parties. Anyone who is responsible for wrongdoing will be brought to justice and the courts will determine if they are guilty or not.
“With that, all parties need to accept the SC’s decision which explains that there is no case against the MACC chief over the matter.”
Previously, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin confirmed that police were investigating Azam’s share ownership.
This is despite the SC’s decision that it could not conclusively establish if the MACC chief had broken the law.
On Jan 18, the SC said that it could not conclusively establish if there was a breach under Section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (SICDA).
This is the section that stipulates that a trading account must be opened in the name of the beneficial owner or authorised nominee, and the area that the capital market regulator looked at in its inquiry into Azam’s share trading case.
The MACC chief is alleged to have bought millions of shares and warrants in public-listed companies with a value over the RM100,000 cap on equity holdings by civil servants.
He told a press conference in January that his share trading account had been used by his younger brother to purchase shares in 2015, following allegations that the MACC chief had interests and shareholdings in several companies.
He also denied any wrongdoing and said the stocks purchased had been transferred to his brother’s account. – March 23, 2022
