Azam Baki Calls For Clean Conduct At MACC Amid Unresolved Shareholding Allegations

In a Facebook post that drew widespread
In a Facebook post that drew widespread attention, he urged his own staff to uphold integrity and ignore what he called false narratives, just days after the cabinet opted not to release the report concerning him

Malay Mail/Berita Harian SG

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Days after the Malaysian cabinet acknowledged receiving a report on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki’s shareholding controversy but declined to release its findings, Azam posted a public message on Facebook urging his staff to uphold integrity and dismiss what he called “false narratives.”

The post, published on the MACC official Facebook page following Hari Raya Aidilfitri, called on all MACC officers to “remain firm in principle” and let their “work and integrity speak louder than any accusation.”

It came less than two weeks after Communications Minister Datuk Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil, on 11 March, confirmed that the cabinet had discussed a report by a government committee — led by Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar — into Azam’s shareholdings, but refused to disclose any details or findings.

The government committee’s report has not been made public.

Chief Secretary Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar has said the report would be forwarded to the Public Service Department, which would then convene a disciplinary board — a process that civil society groups say falls well short of what the situation demands.

MACC Denies Wrongdoing as Allegations of Share Ownership Surface

The Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4 Centre) has criticised the investigation as lacking independence, noting that both the MACC and the committee investigating it report directly to the prime minister’s office.

“The executive is investigating itself, with both bodies reporting to the same individual,” C4 Centre said in a statement, adding that the government’s silence “adds another layer of obfuscation to an already dire instance of mis-governance.”

The controversy stems from a Bloomberg report alleging “corporate manipulation” involving Azam.

In its wake, Pandan MP Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli released a statement alleging that Azam owns RM14 million in shares across nine companies, and that these purchases were not sanctioned by relevant authorities.

Rafizi claimed the information came from government sources in Putrajaya.

The MACC has rejected the allegations as false and intended to damage its reputation, and Azam has said he intends to sue Bloomberg for defamation.

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Government Yet to Respond to Calls for Independent Oversight

Separately, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke confirmed the party had pushed for a royal commission of inquiry into broader allegations of a “corporate mafia” but failed to convince the cabinet.

He added that DAP had been aware of such allegations as far back as 2020 to 2022.

The government has instead directed existing enforcement agencies — including the MACC itself — to investigate the claims of corporate manipulation.

At the same time, C4 Centre has called on the government to release the full investigative report, establish a royal commission of inquiry, and reform the MACC’s appointment process to remove it from executive control.

When the nation’s prime body tasked with resolving and defeating corrupt practices is itself quite possibly complicit in engaging in such practices, a crisis of faith is bound to emerge.

As of publication, the government has not indicated it will release the committee’s findings or establish an independent inquiry.