Act on claims against Azam, alienation of flood ponds, G25 tells MACC

 

G25 says MACC must address the claims to maintain public confidence in its fight against bribery and corruption.

PETALING JAYA: The G25 group of former senior civil servants has called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate the alienation of six flood retention ponds in Kuala Lumpur and address claims that its chief owns a substantial amount of shares.

In a statement today, G25 said it was disappointed that the anti-graft body had yet to respond to Segambut MP Hannah Yeoh’s call for MACC to state its stand on the 2019 Auditor-General’s Report, which stated that six flood retention ponds in Kuala Lumpur had been approved for various development projects.

Stressing that MACC should investigate whether there were vested interests behind the change in land use, G25 said this was especially important in view of the recent nationwide floods which have caused “terrible losses”.

It said it was similarly disappointed that MACC had been silent on calls by academician Edmund Terence Gomez for discussions within its advisory and consultative panels on claims that chief commissioner Azam Baki allegedly owns extensive corporate stock.

Gomez resigned as a member of the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel (CCPP) on Dec 27 after claiming that it did not discuss the allegations against Azam.

“In his resignation letter, the professor explained that all his letters to MACC calling for an internal probe into the allegations remain unanswered,” said G25.

“This conspiracy of silence adds to the suspicion that there is something wrong within the organisation.”

Stating that addressing the controversy was essential for MACC to maintain public confidence in its fight against bribery and corruption, G25 noted that anti-graft bodies in Hong Kong, Singapore and Indonesia had “gained much respect” for going after high-ranking officials in their own battle against graft.

“We hope MACC will show it can do the same. But first, it must clean up its own house,” it said.

CCPP chairman Borhan Dolah has since said that Gomez did not discuss Azam’s alleged misconduct with him (Borhan) prior to resigning.

Meanwhile, MACC Advisory Board chairman Abu Zahar Ujang was quoted in an Utusan Malaysia report as saying they had not received any letter from Gomez in regards to the allegations against Azam. - FMT