PM vows no compromise if key bodies' integrity at risk, mum on Azam

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has reiterated that his government would not compromise if the integrity of strategic institutions is in question.

He said stern action towards wrongdoing and misappropriation in the defence sector, as well as the uncovering of high-profile cartels, is proof of this.

"This stresses the principle that no one is immune from the law," Anwar said in a Facebook post last night.

The prime minister's remarks were in response to Malaysia moving up in the Corruption Perception Index (CPI) rankings from 57 to 54 for 2025.

However, the release of the CPI results also coincided with a Bloomberg report revealing that MACC chief Azam Baki was listed as having 17.7 million shares in a financial services company.

The shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad would have been worth close to RM800,000 yesterday.

While it is not illegal for civil servants to purchase stocks, a civil service disciplinary circular states that they are not allowed to purchase more than RM100,000 worth of stocks in a single company.

Azam said he had purchased and disposed of the stocks at an unspecified time last year. However, Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) records still list Azam as a shareholder of Velocity Capital Partner as of Dec 26, 2025.

Azam Baki

While it is not known how much Azam bought the shares for, the lowest that Velocity Capital Partner shares traded for last year was RM0.015 per unit, meaning the MACC chief's holdings could have been RM265,500 at the lowest.

The MACC and Azam have denied wrongdoing and that the top graftbuster had declared his shareholdings with the Public Service Department. However, the issue of compliance with the RM100,000 purchasing limit was not addressed.

Malaysiakini has contacted Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar for comment regarding Azam's case.

Second time under spotlight

This is the second time the MACC chief has been in the spotlight over his stock trading portfolio.

In late 2021, he came under scrutiny over shareholdings in a company that was also in excess of the RM100,000 limit.

In January 2022, Azam said he had informed the MACC Corruption Prevention Advisory Board that the shares were bought by his brother, who borrowed his name, and that he believed he did not do anything wrong.

The declaration triggered a Securities Commission probe that eventually found no evidence of proxy trading as Azam had “control” over his own trading account.

On Jan 20, 2022, Anwar, then the opposition leader, pledged to raise the matter with then-prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

This was after PKR Youth handed him a memorandum, which, among others, called for MACC chiefs to declare their assets.

Since taking power as prime minister in November 2022, however, Anwar has become a staunch supporter of Azam, once declaring that the latter was the only one brave enough to go after corrupt leaders.

Anwar has extended Azam's contract as MACC chief past retirement three times. - Mkini