PULAI MP Salahuddin Ayub has filed an emergency motion to discuss the allegations against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki on March 1.

“The emergency motion was filed under Standing Order 18 (1) this morning and was sent to Dewan Rakyat Speaker Azhar Azizan Harun,” Salahuddin said in a message to The Malaysian Insight this morning.

The Amanah deputy president said that he hoped Parliament would debate the issue during the first Parliament session of the year in March.

“I hope the Speaker will not send this important issue to the special chambers as it involves the integrity of a top civil servant,” the former agriculture minister said.

This is the second time an MP has raised the matter in Parliament.

On December 14, Sungai Buloh MP R. Sivarasa has also filed an urgent motion to discuss Azam’s alleged ownership of close to two million shares in a public listed company.

Sivarasa, in a statement, said he was informed that Azam, between 2015 and 2016 as MACC’s investigation director, became the owner of 930,000 shares in Gets Global Berhad as at April 30, 2015, and a further 1,029,000 shares as at March 31, 2016.

He further claimed that Azam, as at March 21, 2016, also owned 2,156,000 warrants in public listed Excel Force MSC Berhad, while his younger brother, identified as Nasir Baki, owned 3,728,000 shares in Gets Global.

Azam has been “cleared” by the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang, who yesterday told a press conference that the chief commissioner had already explained the matter to the panel.

According to Azam’s explanation, the purchase of shares was made by the chief commissioner’s brother, Nasir, using Azam’s trading account.

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

Critics, however, are saying Azam cannot be cleared by an internal inquiry or just by his own explanation to the advisory board, and calls continue for an independent investigation to be held. – January 6, 2022.