Last chance for Ismail Sabri to salvage his premiership by getting his Cabinet to decide to terminate Azam’s appointment as MACC Chief Commissioner if Azam is not prepared to appear before the Parliamentary Special Committee.
Ismail Sabri has one last chance to salvage his premiership from becoming a kakistocracy.
This coming Wednesday it is a must that current prime minister Ismail Sabri and his cabinet makes an important decision regarding the fate of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Azam Baki.
If Azam Baki is not prepared to exonerate himself before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSCC) on Agencies, does this not invoke an immediate termination from the prime minister?
PM Ismail Sabri should also advise the Cabinet to convene a Special Parliament on 21st January to restore public confidence in the government’s anti-corruption programme and to receive, debate and decide on the report of the PSCC on Agencies in the Prime Minister’s Department on “Azam-gate”
The Cabinet should decide on two days of Special Parliament – on January 20 on the floods disaster and on January 21 on the Azam-gate, two major issues which started the New Year of 2022 with the question whether Malaysia has degenerated into a kakistocracy.
The Cabinet should take a further decision that henceforth, the appointment of MACC Chief Commissioner will be considered and evaluated by the bi-partisan PSCC on Agencies in the Prime Minister’s Department in accordance with the Cabinet decisions of August 13, 2018 and July 31, 2019.
Malaysia suffered two infamies – becoming “kleptocracy at its worst” in the world as a result of the 1MDB scandal and a convicted criminal for corruption opening an international conference.
It is sad and tragic that instead of strengthening the national integrity system in Malaysia, the MACC Chief Commissioner has plunged the country into the worst crisis of confidence in the anti-corruption agency in the nation’s history.
This was of course, contributed in no small measure by the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) members not realising their statutory powers and responsibilities, as well as the ACAB Chairman unilaterally speaking on behalf of the other six ACAB members when he was merely expressing his personal opinion.
To exacerbate the issue, the ill-advised joint statement by the three MACC deputy commissioners declaring their support for Azam and dismissing the conflict-of-interest allegations as “politics of revenge” has clearly discredited MACC’s image and credibility.
The question is whether the Prime Minister and the Cabinet can salvage their integrity and credibility on Wednesday to demonstrate that they have not degenerated to become a kakistocracy.
Lim Kit Siang
MP for Iskandar Puteri
