SIX Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) advisory board members have disassociated themselves from their chairman’s move to clear MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki of any wrongdoing in the issue of corporate shares ownership. 

The board members in a statement said they did not share the views of MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang on the matter.  

“We categorically wish to state that the board members at that meeting or at any time thereafter did not express such opinion as Abu Zahar attributed to,” they said in a statement today.

The members were referring to Abu Zahar’s recent remarks, that the board found Azam had done no wrong after hearing his explanation that the shares belonged to his brother who had used his trading account.

The shares were later transferred to the brother, and, as such, there was no conflict of interest, he added. 

The members said the comments made at a press conference on Wednesday were entirely Abu Zahar’s personal view. 

They said that prior to the press conference, they had a separate discussion with Abu Zahar and proposed the matter to be further referred to an independent committee, the Parliamentary Special Committee on Corruption, or the MACC’s Complaints Panel. 

However, they said their views and proposals were not raised by Abu Zahar at the press conference.

The statement was signed by board members Ismail Omar, Azman Ujang, Akhbar Satar, Hamzah Kassim, David Chua Kok Tee and Prof Mohammad Agus Yusoff.

The members also added that the board has no investigative powers as it was established as an advisory board. 

“We need to provide this clarification so as to safeguard the integrity of the board and the institution.”

Azam is reported to have acquired 2.15 million shares in Excel Force MSC Bhd in 2015, as well as 1.93 million shares in Gets Global Bhd the same year and 1.02 million shares in Gets Global the following year.

On Thursday, the Securities Commission (SC) said it would be questioning Azam about the transactions.

Azam said he will cooperate with the SC in its investigation of the use of his trading account by his brother. – January 8, 2022.