Form special task force to probe Azam, PM told

 

Puad Zarkashi (left) and Abdul Rahman Dahlan have opposing views on the matter of getting the prime minister to look into the allegations against the MACC chief.

PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi has urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to form a special task force to investigate allegations against Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki on his corporate share ownership.

He said the task force should be independent, transparent, and have proper terms of reference to investigate the matter comprehensively.

The recommendation came after the anti-graft agency’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) chairman Abu Zahar Ujang said he would submit a report on the board’s probe on Azam to the prime minister for further action.

Puad told FMT that it was necessary for Ismail to take the initiative because people did not have confidence in the ACAB investigation.

“The people will not believe the report that will be sent by Abu Zahar to the prime minister because the board only listened to Azam’s explanations.

“Also, did they call upon other parties like Edmund Terence Gomez, the Securities Commission Malaysia, and Azam’s brother (Nasir) to make the investigation a comprehensive one?

“The people will doubt the outcome of the ACAB’s one-sided investigation,” he said.

Meanwhile, Puad’s Supreme Council colleague Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the prime minister should not be dragged into the issue despite MACC being parked under the Prime Minister’s Department.

“If the report that will be sent to the prime minister by ACAB is required under the MACC Act 2009, then it is okay.

“But, if there is no provision in the Act to compel ACAB to report to the prime minister, I suggest that the board not do so because it will unnecessarily drag him into this issue,” he told FMT.

According to Rahman, the Act provided enough internal mechanisms for the anti-graft agency to deal with multiple issues, including share ownership.

“There are five independent oversight committees tasked to oversee MACC’s conduct and operations. These committees are set up to do exactly what is needed in situations such as this.

“There is no practical reason to drag the prime minister into this issue because these five committees are enough.”

The five oversight committees that he referred to are ACAB, the Special Committee on Corruption, the Complaints Committee, the Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel and the Operations Review Panel.

Rahman also questioned the need to set up a parliamentary select committee when there was already a special committee on corruption, which comprised both government and opposition MPs.

“Just let that committee investigate because it has already been set up under the MACC Act,” he said.

He also stressed that MACC’s independent oversight committees existed to provide a check and balance on the agency.

“I believe the (oversight) committees will be able to deal with this issue independently and internally.

“While doing so, perhaps MACC can continue engaging the public who have lingering issues that need to be addressed,” Rahman said.

Yesterday, ACAB cleared Azam of any wrongdoing related to his share ownership.

At a press conference at the agency’s headquarters in Putrajaya, Abu Zahar said they had sought an explanation from Azam on the purchase of shares.

He said Azam had explained that his brother Nasir had used his account to buy shares that Azam did not have any pecuniary interest in. The purchase of shares was made in the open market in 2015 and there was no conflict of interest, he said.

The announcement was met with outrage from several quarters, who called out the lack of transparency and independence in the inquiry process. - FMT