A police investigation into the share ownership of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki is ongoing, says home minister Hamzah Zainudin.
He said this was despite the Securities Commission Malaysia’s (SC) decision that it could not conclusively establish that Azam had broken the law over his ownership of shares.
“The investigation is ongoing. The ministry does not intend to make any further comments and interfere with the investigation,” Hamzah said in a written parliamentary reply to Ramkarpal Singh (PH-Bukit Gelugor), who had asked whether Azam was still being investigated even though the SC had cleared him of wrongdoing.
On Jan 18, the SC concluded it could not prove any breaches under Section 25 (4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (Sicda) in relation to the ownership of shares in Azam’s trading accounts.
SC said after concluding its inquiry and based on the evidence gathered, it was unable to conclusively establish that a breach under Sicda had occurred.
Meanwhile, a DAP lawmaker has called on the cabinet to set up a special committee to probe Azam’s controversial share ownership.
In debating the royal address at the Dewan Rakyat today, Wong Kah Woh (Harapan-Ipoh Timur) said the committee’s findings must be submitted to the Parliament.
“The issue cannot be just closed as announced by the de facto Law Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. We are talking about the top man of the graft buster.
“When we spoke of the slew of reforms we are going to implement in Parliament, we must be firm, not weak,” he said.
Wong called out Dewan speaker Azhar Azizan Harun and Parliament Special Select Committee on Agencies Under the Prime Minister’s Department chairperson Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman for being “weak”.
“The special select committee decided not to summon Azam after he declined to come on the ground that he has a defamation suit in the court and the summon is not in line with the procedure.
“What is going to happen to our parliamentary reforms? Will this set a precedent when other parliamentary committees and the Parliament Accounts Committee (PAC) want to summon witnesses?
“Two days ago, the speaker said he did not agree with Azam. But what is the action being taken (against Azam)?” he asked.
It was reported Azhar disagreed with Azam’s statement that his refusal to appear before the special committee was because it was merely an invitation and not a subpoena.
Meanwhile, Wong also slammed MACC for abusing its power by launching an investigation against Securities Commission (SC) officials.
“Two days after Azam was investigated, the SC was also probed by the MACC. How should I refer to such action if not an abuse of power?” said Wong.
It was reported on Jan 6 that the SC began probing Azam over his allegation surrounding a proxy stock trading scandal under Section 25 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (Sicda).
On Jan 11, it was reported that MACC received complaints about certain individuals in the higher management and board of directors of the SC.
The SC then concluded that there was no conclusive evidence that Azam had breached the law.
Azam drew criticism over his ownership of 1,930,000 shares in Gets Global Berhad (previously KBES Berhad) on April 30, 2015, worth around RM772,000 at the time.
His shareholding in Gets Global Berhad went down to 1,029,500 as of March 31, 2016, worth around RM340,000 at the time.
He also held 2,156,000 warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad in March 2016.
The share ownership in 2015 and 2016 had raised questions on whether it was commensurate with his income as a public servant and conflict of interest concerns.
Azam claimed the shares were not his but purchased by his brother in his name, prompting the SC to get involved over the possible misuse of his trading account.