Kuala Lumpur: The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s Advisory Board (ACAB) chairman Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang’s remarks to the press last Wednesday on MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki does not reflect the Board’s views, ACAB members said.
In a statement signed by six members of the seven-member Board, they said Abu Zahar’s statement on the matter, including that there was no crime committed or conflict of interest in the case, was the chairman’s personal views.
At his press conference on Wednesday, Abu Zahar had said that after a lengthy discussion following a meeting with Azam Baki on Nov 24, 2021, the Board found that Azam did not have any pecuniary or beneficial interest on the issue of purchased shares of the amount reported (by the media) and was satisfied with the explanation given by Azam.
“We categorically wish to state that the Board members at that meeting or at any time thereafter did not express such opinion as Abu Zahar attributed to. We also wish to state that these comments were entirely Abu Zahar’s personal view,” they said.
The signatories were Tan Sri Ismail Omar; Datuk Seri Azman Ujang; Datuk Seri Akhbar Satar; Datuk Dr Hamzah Kassim; Datuk David Chua Kok Tee; and Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Agus Yusoff.
Members of the ACAB are appointed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, It consists of seven members including Abu Zahar, and among others has the role to advise MACC on any aspect of the corruption problem in Malaysia and to scrutinise and endorse resource needs of the Commission to ensure its effectiveness.
The statement said that prior to the press conference, members of the Board had a separate discussion with Abu Zahar and proposed that the matter be further referred to an independent committee, the Parliamentary Special Committee on Corruption or the MACC’s Complaints Panel.
“However, our views and proposals were not raised at Abu Zahar’s press conference. The ACAB has no investigation power as it is established as an Advisory Board.
“We need to provide this clarification in order to safeguard the integrity of the Board and the institution,” they said.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob has assured that Putrajaya will not compromise on issues regarding misconduct among civil servants.
Stressing that the government would not intervene in the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki’s case, Ismail Sabri said government intervention would only go against the establishment of the MACC, an independent body that should not be dictated by politicians including a prime minister.
“Originally, MACC was known as Anti-Corruption Agency or BPR which was under the Prime Minister’s Department, but many disagreed and asked for it to be an independent body so that there will be no intervention by the government, especially a Prime Minister – which was why MACC was established.
“But now they want me to intervene. I hope we can all be consistent with the things we do,” he said
Ismail Sabri said this in response to a statement by Pakatan Harapan (PH) who urged for an independent body to investigate the scandal involving Azam Baki for allegedly owning shares in a company listed on Bursa Malaysia.
