This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on March 2, 2026 - March 8, 2026

Amidst pressure on the government to hold a Royal Commission of Inquiry into allegations surrounding the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), the police announced on Friday morning that they had received a police report alleging that an influential local figure is conspiring with an international media agency to topple the government.

The statement by Inspector-General of Police Datuk Seri Mohd Khalid Ismail did not name anybody. But within hours, a copy of a police report (with certain parts, including the names of the complainant and his associate, redacted) went viral. In the police report, the complainant alleged that he was engaged to do some work for the family of the late Tun Daim Zainuddin in July 2025, which included putting international pressure on the government of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki, who has been investigating Daim and family, via various international media.

The complainant further said that after Bloomberg published articles on MACC and Azam Baki recently, he felt obliged to lodge a police report. And now Bukit Aman is investigating the case under Section 124B of the Penal Code, which criminalises activities deemed detrimental to parliamentary democracy and, if convicted, carries a jail term of up to 20 years.

Is this a case of here we go again? Flashback to 2015 when the police investigated critics of 1MDB, including The Edge, which was subsequently suspended over our various exposés on 1MDB. Former member of parliament and 1MDB critic Tony Pua, who was barred from leaving the country in 2015, said in a Facebook posting after Bukit Aman’s announcement on Friday, “Sounds like déjà vu.”

Whether the allegations made in the police report by the complainant (about whom all we know is a 54-year-old editor and who should perhaps come forward) are true or not, they should be investigated. But this is separate from the allegations against the MACC as published by Bloomberg — including the existence of a “corporate mafia” working hand in hand with MACC investigators to force businessmen to sell their companies. And the best way to clear the MACC is via an independent Royal Commission of Inquiry as demanded by many, including the DAP — a key member of the Madani government. Just as there must be a proper investigation into the report against Daim’s family, there must be one on the MACC too. There must be no cover-up.

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