The Chief Commissioner of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Agency (MACC) Tan Sri Azam Baki should be investigated thoroughly in light of the Securities Commission’s (SC) revelation that he had full control of his trading account to purchase shares in 2015.
This contradicts his earlier claim that the account was used by his younger brother, Nasir Baki, for the share transactions. Should we now consider his earlier statement as fact or just a fable to cover up the truth?
Notably, this is not the first time the MACC has been dragged into an elaborate fairy tale.
In 2015, Azam Baki and a team of investigators claimed that they had met the Arab prince who had allegedly donated RM2.6 billion into former Prime Minister Najib Razak’s (pictured above) personal bank account.
The graft buster then confirmed that the money deposited into Najib’s account “originated from the Middle East” and had “no connection at all to 1MDB”.
However, this ‘Arabian Prince Donation’ story ended up being dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 8 December 2021 as it determined that the money was indeed misappropriated from SRC International, a former subsidiary of 1MDB.
If fairy tales such as 1001 Arabian Nights and Brothers Grimm were popular stories when we grew up, Malaysia can now claim to have produced its own modern fairy tales namely ‘The Saudi Prince Donation (2015)’ and ‘The Brothers Baki (2022)’.
The recent twists and turns of the Azam Baki saga clearly shows that we cannot uncover the truth as long as he is in office. Azam should be asked to take temporary leave to ensure an independent investigation on this issue can commence. In the longer term, the MACC should be reformed and be placed under the supervision of the Parliament, instead of the Prime Minister of the day, for better oversight. This move will elevate the MACC’s credibility and capability as a graft buster that can act without fear or favour.
But will all this happen voluntarily? I doubt so. We need to push for it.
Let us give our support to the #TangkapAzamBaki rally this Saturday at 11am as a precursor to kick off an independent probe for this saga and in the longer term drive a cohesive effort to #RombakSPRM.
Publicity Secretary of DAPSY Federal Territory
Raja Ahmad Iskandar Fareez
