SC's finding shows why Azam should be placed on leave - Gomez

 

The Securities Commission's (SC) inability to conclusively establish if MACC chief Azam Baki had committed any violation of the law showed that it was imperative to put the top anti-graft officer on a garden leave while he is being investigated, said economist Edmund Terence Gomez.

Gomez, who is a former member of MACC's Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, said SC's announcement yesterday was shocking and "unacceptable".

"The SC’s unstated reason why it was unable to conclusively determine the validity of the allegations against Azam raises a very disturbing question: why is it that all attempts to institute an investigation into these allegations have not resulted in an in-depth and open enquiry?

"Although these allegations were raised by the media, discussed in Parliament, and brought to the attention of the MACC’s Advisory Board, no independent investigation was undertaken. Now that an investigation has finally been undertaken, we are told by the SC that it is unable to determine if Azam had breached the law.

"This disturbing series of events, where investigations have been hampered or have not reached a satisfactory conclusion, indicates why it was imperative that Azam Baki should have been instructed to go on garden leave when the allegations first emerged. The government has not acted decisively on this issue, allowing MACC’s chief commissioner to remain in office while he was being investigated," he said.

The SC yesterday issued a statement announcing that it had concluded its enquiry into the shareholding case of Azam, saying that it was unable to conclusively establish that a breach under section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (SICDA) has occurred.

Azam Baki

Following this, Azam, who had been under public scrutiny after he openly said his brother had used his trading account to acquire millions of shares in 2015, announced that he would be continuing his duties leading MACC.

Adding further, Gomez urged the government to immediately establish an independent committee to review the matter, given that SC was unable to "provide an informed view" of the allegations against Azam. - Mkini