Why is the Prime Minister so quick to squash rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle yet has been silent regarding MACC Chief’s alleged corruption for months?

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri’s continued silence on the serious corruption allegations against the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Datuk Seri Azam Baki is deeply concerning and shows Ismail Sabri’s lack of commitment towards accountability and integrity.

In a press statement today, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Iskandar Puteri, Lim Kit Siang continued his criticism towards Ismail’s silence, saying that it is impossible for the Prime Minister to not be aware of the calls from the public to address the scandal surrounding Azam Baki for the past two months. In fact, the issue has been put under further scrutiny after the resignation of Professor Edmund Terence Gomez from MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel in protest for the inaction against Azam Baki’s alleged wrongdoings.

Kit Siang further asserted,

“A Prime Minister who is committed to a government which prioritises accountability, transparency and integrity would not have allowed such an allegation concerning conflict-of interest of the No. 1 officer in anti-corruption commission to go unrebutted for a single day.”

The Prime Minister’s ‘conspiracy of silence’ regarding Azam Baki is even more glaring given how fast he responded to rumours of a Cabinet reshuffle involving several Ministers that have publicly voiced out support for Ismail Sabri’s premiership. Yesterday, the Prime Minister released a statement saying that there is no imminent Cabinet reshuffle in less than a few days after rumours of several Ministers being dropped have surfaced online.

Kit Siang then highlighted the discrepancy between how Ismail dealt with the two issues at hand and questioned whether the Prime Minister has given up on the anti-corruption efforts of his government, especially given how the MACC comes directly under his control.

The scandal must be addressed and handled properly by those in power. Azam Baki must testify before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for Agencies Under the Prime Minister’s Department for his alleged corruption.

We must not let Malaysia slide back to become a kleptocracy once again! – The Rocket.