PM assured me Azam won’t get extension, says PKR MP

 Zahir Hassan says this was conveyed during a one-on-one meeting with Anwar Ibrahim a month ago.

Wangsa Maju MP Zahir Hassan said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim asked to meet him and other PKR backbenchers. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

 A PKR MP says Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim assured him that Azam Baki’s contract as Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner would not be extended.

Zahir Hassan, the Wangsa Maju MP, said this was conveyed during a one-on-one meeting with Anwar, who is also PKR president, about a month ago.

Zahir said Anwar asked to meet him and other PKR backbenchers after not meeting them in a while. However, he did not meet Rafizi Ramli, Wong Chen, or Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

He said this was after he and several MPs aligned with Rafizi issued statements criticising the government’s stance on Azam’s shareholding allegations.

“When he called me up, the first thing he asked was why we issued the statements. I told him the statements were fair, and that we highlighted issues of mutual concern, issues in which everyone knows where we stand.

“So it shouldn’t be surprising that our stand is as such, and that was the start of the discussion.

“I did ask Anwar about Azam, and at the time, he assured me that Azam would not get a contract extension. That was then. What will happen in the coming weeks, I don’t know,” he added.

Zahir was speaking to reporters after an anti-Azam ceramah at the Kuala Lumpur and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall here last night, joined by Rafizi and Wong, among others.

Rafizi played down Anwar’s meetings with backbenchers, who are mostly said to be aligned with the former PKR deputy president, saying he welcomed them.

He also said Anwar had been “mostly very fatherly” during the meetings by stating his respect for the right of the backbenchers to speak out on issues.

“It’s good that he sits down with the backbenchers and party leaders… The thing about them is that they’re always (aware about what’s happening) on the ground.”

Rafizi and others have urged the government not to extend Azam’s contract as MACC chief commissioner over allegations levelled against him in a Bloomberg report in February.

Azam’s contract has been extended three times since he took office in March 2020, with one-year extensions granted in May 2023, May 2024, and May 2025.

His current contract expires on May 12. - FMT