AN internal board of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) cannot clear the agency’s members of corruption and an investigation by the relevant parliamentary select committee is still necessary, said lawmakers Chan Foong Hin and Khoo Poay Tiong.

The two members of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee (PSC) on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department said the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board is “not meant as a tool” to clear chief commissioner Azam Baki over allegations of his corporate share ownership.

“We are of the view that the board’s own investigation does not oust the jurisdiction of the PSC to conduct its own investigation and to make recommendations to Parliament to amend the laws accordingly, if necessary.

“Being the leader of the body, which upholds integrity in the nation by dealing with corruption, it is essential that the MACC commissioner comes clean to the public, and what better way than to answer to the PSC.

“The transcript of the investigation will be made available to the public, and the public can then decide whether Azam himself is fit for the job as the No. 1 corruption buster,” Khoo, the Kota Melaka MP and Chan, the Kota Kinabalu MP, said in a joint statement today.

They were responding to Azam’s statement yesterday that he was not answerable to anyone except the board.

Board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang at a press conference yesterday said Azam had given board members an explanation on November 24.

According to his explanation, the shares purchase in 2015 was by Azam’s brother using Azam’s trading account, and the shares were later transferred to the brother. As such, Azam is deemed not to have done anything wrong.

Azam also said he had informed his superiors, whom he did not name, of the purchase by his brother.

Chan and Khoo said Azam was wrong in saying he was not answerable to anyone other than the board, as the MACC was created by an Act of law by Parliament.

“He may claim that he is not answerable to anyone else, but we members of Parliament as lawmakers have the powers to legislate accordingly. We can amend the act to tighten provisions and deal with any legal loopholes, if any, for the benefit of the people.”

They added that the episode had caused an erosion of the public’s trust in MACC, and its credibility as an independent body to fight corruption will be in doubt.

“Azam noted that it was his brother that bought the shares as the shares were transferred to the brother. Why didn’t the brother just buy the shares using his own account in the first place? Why is there a need for the brother to buy the shares using Azam’s trading account first? The general public do not buy Azam’s explanation as it stands. All these needs answering by Azam,” the two MPs said.

They also questioned whether Azam had satisfied the criteria on asset declaration based on the government circular requiring civil servants to declare their assets, and whether he had come into any potential conflict of interest regarding investigations into companies that he was a shareholder in.

“As such, we repeat our call that the PSC on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department should urgently, and without any further delay, call for a meeting to investigate the matter and Azam be called in as soon as possible to give evidence to the PSC so as to limit the damage to MACC.” – January 6, 2022.