KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 24): DAP will propose at this Friday's Cabinet meeting a royal commission of inquiry to investigate the alleged "corporate mafia" scheme, Malaysiakini reported on Tuesday.
The recent decision to set up a special task force to probe Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki over his shareholding controversy alone is insufficient, DAP secretary general Anthony Loke Siew Fook told the news portal in an interview.
“The other allegation concerns the corporate mafia,” Loke said. The proposal for a royal inquiry was first raised at the previous Cabinet meeting and DAP “will continue to push for it”, he said. “This is DAP's position.”
The ‘corporate mafia’ allegations came into the spotlight in a Bloomberg article titled Who’s Watching Malaysia’s Anti-Corruption Watchdog? and centre around takeovers of companies listed on Bursa Malaysia in collusion with high-ranking officials from the MACC.
The article alleges takeover scheme through the use of intimidation by the MACC to pressure executives and shareholders to resign or sell their shares at heavily discounted prices to a group of connected businessmen. Azam has denied the allegations.
"What is being alleged now concerns the entire MACC as an institution," Loke said, noting that the current special task force lacks sufficient powers to investigate such claims.
A royal commission of inquiry has broad powers, including to summon any persons in Malaysia to give evidence and compel the production of documents, and is held only to investigate high-profile matters of public interests. The panel, which is formed by the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, was most recently held in 2024 to look into the loss of sovereignty over Batu Puteh.
The allegations are not new, he was cited as saying by Malaysiakini. “We have heard similar complaints before, but no international media outlet has reported on them.”
The matter was previously raised several years ago, even in Parliament, and Digital Minister Gobind Singh Deo as a practising lawyer has had clients facing similar issues, Loke highlighted.
The government’s response so far “has been inadequate and does not meet public expectations", Loke was quoted as saying.
He also reiterated DAP's position that Azam should be replaced by a new appointee who commands greater public confidence and is free from controversy.