Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) panel chief Borhan Dolah is being “disingenuous” about emails concerning chief commissioner Azam Baki and his ownership of corporate shares, Dr Edmund Terence Gomez, who quit Borhan’s panel recently, said.
Gomez said Borhan, when speaking to a newspaper about his (Gomez’s) resignation, failed to mention that the former had also submitted five attachments with information on Azam’s business ties.
“Borhan states that my emails to him do not name Azam Baki, the chief commissioner of the MACC.
“What Borhan disingenuously fails to disclose is that in my emails I had five attachments with reports and information on Azam’s direct and indirect business ties.
“The names of other individuals, including that of a previous MACC chief commissioner, are also listed in these attachments,” Gomez, a political economist, said in a statement today.
Gomez added that there was “no value” in continuing to debate with Borhan about their email correspondence.
He said he had communicated concerns about Azam to Abu Zahar Nika Ujang, who chairs another MACC panel, the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board.
Gomez also provided the email communications he had with Borhan and Zahar to the media.
“I do not wish to detract attention from the core issue at hand. An immediate investigation is imperative of the serious allegations about Azam’s business-related activities,” he added.
Gomez resigned from the panel in a letter to Borhan dated December 27.
He said his appeals to Borhan for the panel to discuss Azam’s alleged ownership of shares in Gets Global Berhad in 2015 and 2016, had gone unheeded.
Borhan yesterday responded to Gomez’s resignation by speaking to Berita Harian, saying that Gomez did not mention Azam’s alleged misconduct in his emails.
The issue of the anti-graft chief commissioner’s shares ownership was raised in Parliament on December 14 by Sungai Buloh MP R Sivarasa, who called for an independent investigation.
Gomez in his December 27 letter to Borhan said disturbing questions had been raised about the “nexus between business and law enforcement” and a “conflict-of-interest” situation involving Azam.
He said he first brought the matter to Borhan’s attention on November 12 and had urged him to convene a meeting. Despite Borhan’s initial agreement, the meeting never materialised.
Gomez then said he wrote two more times to Borhan about the matter and provided more information he had received about Azam’s family’s business links, but never received any response.
Opposition veteran Lim Kit Siang has called for a parliamentary select committee on corruption and abuses or wastage of public funds to conduct an investigation into the allegations against Azam.
Opposition party Pejuang said Azam should be placed on garden leave pending an investigation. – TMI