Govt must explain Azam’s appointment as NFCC adviser, says Hamzah

 The opposition leader also wants clarification on the former MACC chief's role in the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre, when he himself is facing investigations.

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin told a press conference that former MACC chief Azam Baki’s appointment was questionable, given that he had been linked to several controversies, including allegations involving a so-called corporate mafia and his share ownership. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin has urged the government to explain why it appointed former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki as an adviser to the National Anti-Financial Crime Centre (NFCC).

Hamzah said Azam’s appointment was questionable, given that he had been linked to several controversies, including allegations involving a so-called corporate mafia and his share ownership, Berita Harian reported.

“I would like to ask the government: what is the justification for appointing Azam as an adviser to the NFCC when he himself is facing issues that are under investigation?” he told a press conference in Parliament today, demanding that Putrajaya give an answer.

According to the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ Facebook page, NFCC’s advisory board met on June 30. Based on the photos shared, Azam attended the meeting alongside Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar, who is the director of the advisory board.

Based on NFCC’s website, other members of the board include Shamshun Baharin Jamil, a former deputy chief commissioner (prevention) of MACC, Inspector-General of Police Khalid Ismail, and Inland Revenue Board CEO Abu Tariq Jamaludin.

Azam ended his six-year tenure as MACC chief commissioner in May, with Abdul Halim Aman, a former High Court judge, succeeding him.

A photo of the NFCC’s advisory board meeting on Tuesday, posted on the Attorney-General’s Chambers’ Facebook page, shows former MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki (left), alongside attorney-general Dusuki Mokhtar, who is the director of the advisory board. (AGC pic)

Azam’s leadership was shadowed by questions over his ownership of shares in listed companies and allegations that MACC officers were working with businessmen to force corporate takeovers.

Both Azam and the MACC have strongly denied the allegations.

The Cabinet later ordered a special investigation led by Dusuki to determine whether the share purchases breached public service rules, but the findings have yet to be released. - FMT