KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 12): Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki should be put on garden leave, until the issue of his shares-ownership in a publicly-listed company is investigated, parliamentarian Datuk Rosol Wahid has said.
The Perikatan Nasional (PN) parliamentarian and his colleagues have also demanded for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the government to give a more responsible response to the matter.
Speaking to reporters briefly at the Kuala Lumpur Courts Complex on Thursday, the Hulu Terengganu member of Parliament also took Azam to task, asking Azam and the government to "walk the talk" on issues of corruption and integrity.
"Maybe he can be put on leave and investigations ought to be carried out as this involves [a person of a high hierarchical] position. The whole situation now is like 'Harapkan pagar, pagar makan padi' (a trusted figure who abuses their power)," he said.
On Tuesday (Feb 10), Bloomberg had published a report alleging that Azam held stakes worth RM800,000 in Velocity Capital Partner Bhd, allegedly in breach of shareholding regulations for public servants.
Azam responded that he had already sold the 17.7 million shares in 2025 and that the transactions were declared to the Public Service Department.
News reports have quoted Anwar as responding to the issue by urging people to read Azam's explanation on the issue and asking why Azam should be attacked when he was carrying out his duties.
Also present on Thursday was Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairperson Datuk Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who questioned Anwar's statement.
"Just because a civil servant works hard, doesn't mean they are immune from scrutiny. It's like double standard to other civil servants. We can't accept such statements from the PM," she said.
She added that there is reasonable doubt raised over the share ownership and its sale doesn't end the issue.
"He said he has sold [the shares]. So, before [the sale], wasn't that an issue?" the Masjid Tanah parliamentarian said.
Rosol, Mas Ermieyati, along with three other PN parliamentarians were present in court on Thursday regarding their case against Anwar over the validity of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) between Malaysia and the United States, arguing that it had been done without the proper authorisation of Parliament.
The matter came up for case management on Thursday, where High Court judge Datuk Amarjeet Singh Serjit Singh set further case management on Feb 23.
The Attorney General's Chambers (AGC), represented by Federal Counsel Krishna Priya Veenagopal @Venugopal, said that they were only served with the papers late Wednesday (Feb 11) and needed more time to peruse and decide on the next course of action.
The MPs, who were represented by lawyer Karthigesan Shanmugam of the firm Karthig Shan, also informed the court that he has been instructed by his clients to file a referral application to the apex court as the issue in the suit was a novel matter. He added that he will do the necessary in due course.
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