Azalina says Azam’s future contract to depend on performance.
PKR MP Rafizi Ramli has warned that extending MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki’s contract for a fourth time would further erode what remains of Pakatan Harapan’s credibility in fighting corruption.
The former economy minister said the government should let Azam go, given the ongoing controversies surrounding him.
“If people ask me what Harapan should do for a start after getting routed in Sabah, I would say we must rebuild our credibility as graft busters. And it should begin with having a new MACC chief commissioner,” Rafizi said on X today.
Yesterday, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said refused to address whether Azam’s contract would be extended. In a written parliamentary reply to Rafizi, she cited a Standing Order to avoid answering.
“In line with Standing Order 23(1)(h), questions regarding proposals or plans that are of a speculative nature are not suitable for specific answers as they involve matters that ‘have not yet become a problem’ or are of a ‘merely speculative’ nature,” she said.
Azalina added that decisions on any future extensions would be based on performance evaluations, agency needs, and relevant considerations at the appropriate time.
Azam received his third contract extension last year. His term will end on 12 May next year. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has previously defended the decision, saying Azam had shown “extraordinary courage” in tackling high-level corruption.
Rafizi also took a jab at Azalina’s reply, joking that it was “vague” — similar to the description Anwar used when responding to the support letter issued by his former political secretary, Shamsul Iskandar Akin.
The Pandan MP argued that Anwar cannot escape scrutiny, as the public will judge his commitment to fighting corruption based on the decision made over Azam’s tenure.
“However, the prime minister won’t listen if I’m the one saying this. It’s better if (PKR deputy president) Nurul Izzah Anwar publicly says this. It would be even better if Anthony Loke and DAP say this in the open. Only then can Harapan and PKR’s credibility be rebuilt little by little,” he said.
Last month, businessperson Albert Tei — who has been releasing exposés on alleged corruption involving several Sabah politicians — implicated Azam in the scandal.
In a video recording with a woman named Sofia Rini Buyong, she told Tei that Anwar had given his blessings for the Sabah politicians to be secretly recorded. She also claimed that Shamsul had met Azam at an undisclosed time to ask the MACC chief to “settle” the Sabah mining scandal involving Tei, prompting calls for both the agency and Azam to be recused from the probe into Shamsul.