Guan Eng questions Muhyiddin's silence over MACC's 'double standards'

DAP Chairperson Lim Guan Eng has challenged Perikatan Nasional leader Muhyiddin Yassin to speak out against alleged MACC double standards.

In a statement today, Lim said MACC's decision to investigate Court of Appeal judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali over unproven allegations was in stark contrast to the commission's decision to not probe its chief commissioner Azam Baki's wealth involving shares valued at millions of ringgit.

"No government leaders have spoken out against the double standards applied by MACC, especially former prime minister Muhyiddin who claims to be the guardian against kleptocrats returning to power.

"Why is Muhyiddin still silent?" the Bagan MP asked.

Before stepping down in August last year, Muhyiddin said in his final televised address that he would "never" cooperate with kleptocrats "waiting to be freed by the courts".

MACC's conduct had again come under scrutiny after Azam confirmed that the commission was probing Nazlan because complaints were lodged.

Alleged millions in account

This was after UK-based writer Raja Petra Kamarudin wrote an article claiming that Nazlan was already being probed by the police over RM1,036,127.40 allegedly deposited into the judge's Maybank account.

This allegedly occurred during the time Nazlan was the Maybank head of corporate and legal services, general counsel and executive vice-president.

Judge Mohd Nazlan Mohd Ghazali

In 2015, he was appointed as a judicial commissioner and was elevated to high court judge in 2017.

His most memorable case was presiding over the money laundering and abuse of power trial against former premier Najib Abdul Razak involving money from government-owned SRC International Sdn Bhd.

Nazlan convicted Najib and handed him a 12-year jail sentence and an RM210 million fine. The Court of Appeal upheld the verdict and sentence. Najib is appealing at the Federal Court.

The judge has since lodged a police report denying allegations made by Raja Petra.

Azam’s shares scandal

As for the controversy surrounding Azam, the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board (ACAB) in January declared that it was satisfied with his explanation over his large stake in Excel Force Bhd.

MACC chief Azam Baki

Azam told the board that he had no pecuniary interest in the company as the stake was acquired through his trading account by his brother - a possible violation of proxy trading rules.

However, the Security Commission claimed that it found "no conclusive evidence" that proxy trading had occurred, thereby contradicting Azam's claims.

Since then, there appears to be no further action on Azam's situation while Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has urged the public to accept the Security Commission's decision to not take action against Azam. - Mkini