Anti-Azam rally ends with vow to keep pushing for MACC reforms

 Speakers also demand a royal commission of inquiry into the anti-graft agency and outgoing chief Azam Baki.

About 500 people attended the second anti-Azam Baki rally, following recent controversies surrounding MACC and the current chief commissioner.

KUALA LUMPUR:

 The anti-Azam Baki rally here ended with a renewed pledge to continue pushing for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to investigate the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and to implement institutional reforms within the agency.

Former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who delivered the final speech, said pressure would continue until an RCI and structural reforms were carried out.

“We promise that as long as there is no independent investigation and no RCI to investigate allegations of a corporate mafia and collusion within MACC, we will continue to demand it until an RCI is established.

“We will continue to pressure until the government publishes the findings of the investigation into Azam’s shareholding case.

“We also promise that we will continue to demand and support that the appointment of the MACC chief commissioner be done through a parliamentary process,” said the Pandan MP.

The rally, which drew about 500 participants in the city centre, was the second such gathering this year following a shareholding controversy involving Azam and allegations of MACC manipulating corporate takeovers.

The turnout came despite an earlier announcement that former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman will replace Azam as MACC chief commissioner effective May 13.

Azam has served as chief commissioner since March 9, 2020, and remained in office beyond retirement age through three one-year contract extensions in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Earlier speakers also urged for an RCI to be established and a broader institutional overhaul of the anti-graft agency.

PKR’s Wangsa Maju MP, Zahir Hassan, said he hoped Halim would be able to carry out his responsibilities effectively, stressing that MACC must be beyond reproach.

“If the agency fighting corruption is not clean, corruption will continue,” he said.

Petaling Jaya MP Lee Chean Chung, also from PKR, said replacing individuals at the top of MACC would not be sufficient without deeper systemic reform.

“Changing the head of MACC is useless if the system (itself) is not changed. We want comprehensive reform,” he said, also calling for an RCI to investigate the matter fully.

Muda president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz said the public had the right to know the outcome of investigations involving Azam, while PSM deputy chairman S Arutchelvan said investigations should continue even as Azam’s tenure ends. - FMT