Do you not know what paid-up capital means, Rafizi asks Azam

 The former economy minister pans the MACC chief for saying that the shares he purchased did not involve paid-up capital.

Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli (left) said MACC chief Azam Baki’s explanation gave the impression that Azam believes shares do not constitute paid-up capital.

PETALING JAYA:

 Rafizi Ramli has called out Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki for allegedly failing to understand the link between shares and paid-up capital.

In a post on X today, the former economy minister said it was unclear if Azam actually understood the regulations governing shareholding by civil servants, or even the concept of shares or the relationship between shares and paid-up capital.

In explaining his personal stake in a financial services company, Azam had said that the shares he held in Velocity Capital Bhd did not involve paid-up capital given that they were purchased on the open market.

Rafizi said Azam’s explanation gives the impression that he believes shares do not form part of paid-up capital.

“All shares represent paid-up capital,” he pointed out.

“Private companies issue their shares to shareholding partners. When the partners purchase shares, it means they are injecting paid-up capital into the company. Publicly-listed companies issue shares to raise paid-up capital on the open market, such as Bursa Malaysia.

“When Azam purchases shares in publicly-listed companies, it means he now owns part of these companies, and his shares form part of the companies’ paid-up capital,” he said.

Rafizi said he did not understand how the MACC chief commissioner, who oversees investigations into white-collar cases involving share transactions and complex finances, could be confused about the meaning of shares.

Sinar Harian previously reported Azam as saying his purchase of shares did not involve paid-up capital because they were bought on the stock market.

The controversy over Azam’s shareholding arose from a Bloomberg report that he held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital, or 1.7% of the company’s paid-up capital, worth about RM800,000 based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.

The report said Azam’s name still appeared on the company’s register of shareholders at the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

This is said to be in breach of a 2024 government circular which states that civil servants may hold shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies provided the holdings do not exceed 5% of the paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value.

However, Azam claimed the report published by the international news agency was malicious and had tarnished his and MACC’s reputation. He insisted that he had not committed any offence and did not currently hold any shares.

Azam said he had proactively declared his shareholdings to the public services department in July 2025 and that they were disposed of within the year. He said claims that he still held equity were false and “very malicious”. - FMT