ALL is not well for Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki.

The grave accusations of Azam failing to declare his extensive ownership of corporate stock as required by law was only outmatched by the ludicrous yet suicidal defence that those stocks in question were purchased by his brother.

These assertions have undoubtedly landed Azam in further hot water given the angry response by the public.

Also, Azam may be liable for a different offence now because by declaring that his brother bought shares in his name, he may have implicated himself further by admitting to breaching the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991, which specifically forbids such action without proper authorisation.

A press conference specifically held to clear the chief commissioner of the allegations did nothing to convince the public, but, instead, ended up doubling his charge sheet as it is very much unexpected and preposterous in what we have seen so far in Malaysian politics.

MACC’s anti-corruption image is in tatters now given that it has been evasive and turned a deaf ear to its chief’s questionable practices, which only came to the media limelight after the resignation of academic Edmund Terence Gomez.

Also, questions should be raised against the fitness of MACC’s very own Anti-Corruption Advisory Board when its chairman Abu Zahar Ujang exonerated Azam with an explanation that could not even convince most ordinary Malaysians.

Although this is not the first time MACC is mired in administrative scandal since it was founded in 2009, it is perhaps the first time, through Azam’s case, that it has revealed how institutionally dysfunctional it is in performing its task at hand.

This is akin to a fire station catching fire while the fire rescue and brigade are nowhere to be found.

Nevertheless, Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is now presented with the perfect opportunity to flex his political muscles by at least sending Azam on garden leave.

It would undoubtedly salvage his reputation and political goodwill, that have been repeatedly damaged due to public anger over his mishandling of the floods.

The prime minister should share some political responsibilities for the alleged malfeasance of the MACC chief, because the latter is appointed through the advice of the former to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong.

As things stand, while the prime minister may not seem to be at the centre of Azam-gate, the fact is that MACC is an important agency under the Prime Minister’s Department, and he is duty-bound to respond to the public.

The prime minister should do well to remember that part of the public wrath following the massive flood was because of the slow and haphazard response from his administration.

Unfortunately, the hesitancy is palpable from the prime minister’s office given that the issue was first thrust into the public domain about two weeks ago.

The initial silence from the prime minister risked undermining his premiership while opposition MPs were quick to smell blood by harping on his non-response on the issue.

Yet, the prime minister badly needed something to define his premiership. After the 100 days SOP breach and massive flooding where executive leadership had been non-existent, the mask perhaps had slipped for Ismail where his leadership was found lacking. 

By taking punitive actions against Azam, MACC’s reputation could still be salvaged and, most importantly, the prime minister could be seen as someone who means business.

This is especially true as MACC has always been deemed as a political tool for past prime ministers: Najib Razak was notorious for sacking then MACC chief Mohamad Shukri Abdull for completing the investigations into the 1MDB scandal, while Mahathir Mohamad, as PH prime minister, also did not do justice and pay respect to the integrity of the anti-graft agency by appointing PKR-affiliated Latheefa Koya as its chief.

Furthermore, the prime minister may expend little political capital by removing Azam and introducing reforms for the currently embattled body.

Aside from the public clamour for MACC reform and Azam’s resignation, Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has publicly stated that the power to scrutinise and subsequently appoint the MACC head should be transferred to Parliament.

In a rare case of conflicting opinion within PAS, its youth wing has also called on Azam to go on garden leave, opposing the party’s secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, who took the stance of accepting Azam’s assertions.

For better or worse, the two youth wings of the governing parties are supportive of reforms and accountability, which perhaps is reflective of the public mood and the indirect consequences of the rivalry between Malay parties Umno and Bersatu-PAS, and it is more likely that institutional reform could be one of the policy platforms these political parties will bring up in the next elections.

If Ismail could spearhead reforms within MACC and hold Azam accountable, it could be said that he did what Najib, Mahathir and Muhyiddin Yassin had not done for MACC.

Needless to say, it would also bode well for Umno’s electoral prospects ahead of the forthcoming general election. – January 9, 2022.

* Kenneth Cheng has always been interested in the interplay between human rights and government but more importantly he is a father of two cats, Tangyuan and Toufu. When he is not attending to his feline matters, he is most likely reading books about politics and human rights or playing video games. He is a firm believer in the dictum “power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will”.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.