Centre to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) chairperson Edmund Terence Gomez took Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to task for an apparent lack of commitment to protecting whistleblowers.
Gomez said this follows the reappointment of Azam Baki as MACC chief, despite the top graft buster being at the centre of a controversy exposed by whistleblower K Lalitha.
Azam was allegedly involved in a share ownership scandal, which raised conflict of interest concerns and whether the shares befit his income as a public servant.
Azam (above) claimed the shares were not his but purchased in his name by his brother, prompting the Securities Commission to also get involved over the possible misuse of his trading account.
Gomez expressed disappointment over Anwar’s move, saying Azam’s contract extension would tarnish the prime minister’s anti-corruption agenda.
“Why Anwar, who supported the whistleblower (Lalitha) in this case, and was openly standing by her on this issue, now is not speaking about protecting the whistleblowers?
“Instead, he reappointed Azam, whom she exposed for questionable share transactions.
“Why is it so important that he (Anwar) should reappoint the tainted chief commissioner when he had the chance to remove him once and for all? I don’t understand.”
Gomez questioned that if the MACC is not credible, will there be whistleblowers who will step forward when the anti-graft body’s chief commissioner sued a whistleblower?
He said this when met by reporters after speaking at a forum titled ‘Strengthening Malaysia’s Whistleblower Policy: What Needs To Be Done and How?’ organised by Gerakbudaya today.
The anti-graft activist clarified that he wasn’t criticising the government blindly, asserting that Anwar had repeatedly pledged to fight corruption.
“Enough of the talks! Show me that you mean business. We are here to help.”
Gomez resigned from the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel in December 2021 in protest of the panel’s inaction against Azam’s alleged ownership of close to two million shares in a public-listed company.
Azam’s recent reappointment drew brickbats, with anti-corruption advocates calling Anwar to explain his decision.
Commit to reforms ahead of state polls
Gomez also called on Anwar’s administration to be committed to implementing reforms and its electoral promises, especially ahead of the looming state elections.
“If we can’t get politicians to respond now, at least give us a public commitment. I fear we may not get a commitment for a real change after the state elections.
“We have a reformist prime minister who said he will reform. Thank you, but can you please do it quickly? Because even as we speak today, there is talk that this government may fall, we have no time to waste,” he said in the forum.
Gomez said the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) formed during former prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s tenure was tasked to come up with measures to address corruption and political financing. The group comprises MPs and civil society members.
“Political financing is contributing to corruption. In a thriving democracy, you need well-funded parties to do their work. Running a party and campaigns isn’t cheap and they have to be transparent and accountable.”
He divulged that the draft of the political financing bill was completed and it was forwarded to then de facto law minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar.
The draft bill now, he said, is with Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) Azalina Othman Said.
Acknowledging that Azalina had said in Parliament that a draft of the bill was sent to the parliamentary special select committee (PSSC) to be deliberated, Gomez urged for the bill to be tabled in the august House during the current sitting.
On Sept 7 last year, Ismail Sabri’s administration agreed in principle to a law on political funding when the Political Funding Bill was presented to the cabinet.
Other proposals made by the APPG included amendments to the Whistleblowers Act and separation of powers between the attorney-general and the public prosecutor, among others.- Mkini
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