A call for former chief justice Tengku Maimun Tuan Mat to head investigations on the MACC and its chief Azam Baki has gained support from MPs from both sides of the aisle.
Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen got the ball rolling yesterday when he proposed that Tengku Maimun (above) be added to the three-member government committee probing Azam over a shareholding issue that emerged last week.
Seputeh MP Teresa Kok built on this, as well as calls for an independent committee to probe Azam and the MACC instead, by suggesting Tengku Maimun head such an investigating team.
"A vast majority of Malaysians widely acknowledge her to possess impeccable credentials, unquestioned integrity, and a proven record of independence.
"Her involvement would immediately lend credibility, public confidence, and legitimacy to the investigative process," Kok said in a statement last night.
The DAP lawmaker pointed out that it was vital for any task force investigating national issues to be independent and be seen as independent, to avoid issues such as those that cropped up when 1MDB was investigated during the Najib Abdul Razak administration.
When contacted, PAS’ Alor Setar MP Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden, Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, who was recently sacked from Bersatu, and Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis from Warisan also supported having Tengku Maimun leading investigations.
Isnaraissah echoed Kok's remarks that having the former chief justice lead investigations would give an investigating committee the gravitas it needed.
"Tengku Maimun is a very righteous figure. So when she heads investigations, it is more convincing. It will be fair to all," she told Malaysiakini.
Afnan and advocacy body Aliran yesterday separately called for the probe into Azam be in the form of a royal commission of inquiry.
Probe over shareholding
A three-member committee headed by Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar is probing issues concerning Azam's multimillion-ringgit shareholdings and compliance with civil service rules.
The committee also consists of Public Service Department director-general Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz and Treasury secretary Johan Mahmood Merican.
However, it has been indicated that the committee will not be investigating allegations that the MACC had colluded with private individuals to strong-arm business rivals.
Bloomberg, in its damning report about the collusion, alleged that Azam is aware of such activities and had acted in support of those perpetrating them.
Clash with MACC
Tengku Maimun retired as chief justice last year.
In 2023, as the chief justice, she had clashed with the MACC after the graft buster launched an investigation against judge Nazlan Ghazali.
A seven-person bench she chaired unanimously ruled that the anti-graft watchdog's probe did not follow protocol, as they had not consulted her beforehand.
The graft busters had launched a probe against Nazlan - the judge who convicted Najib in the SRC International corruption case at the High Court - over allegations of conflict of interest due to Nazlan's previous employment at Maybank at a time when SRC parent company 1MDB had dealings with the bank. - Mkini
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