Unfazed MACC chief says 'not my problem if you don’t like me'

MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki, whose tenure has been extended for another year, is not perturbed by his critics.

In an interview with New Straits Times, he was quizzed on how various parties had “attacked him left, right and centre.”

“I am okay with it. I think there are those who don't like me or they want me out of the system. You don't like me, it's not my problem,” he said.

Previously, Azam (above) was embroiled in a share ownership scandal that raised questions about conflict of interests and if it was commensurate with his income as a public servant.

However, he claimed the shares were not his but purchased by his brother under his name, prompting the Securities Commission (SC) to also probe if there was possible misuse of his trading account.

The SC eventually revealed that Azam had control over his own trading account and that there was no proxy trading involved.

More corruption cases

According to Azam, the agency is dealing with more corruption cases involving high-ranking government officials, as well as women.

"We are seeing an increasing number of women being involved in corruption. In 2019, only nine women were convicted for corruption-related crimes, but this jumped to 57 last year.

"This shows that women too are susceptible to corruption. When there is an opportunity for corruption, both genders will take advantage to enrich themselves," he told the English daily.

Revealing that two to four percent of a nation's gross domestic product could be lost to corruption, Azam said MACC was not focusing on public interest cases to reduce leakages.

"This totals up to RM30 billion to RM40 billion per year.

"If we can save at least RM10 billion, that's enough. You can even use the money to pay bonuses to the people," he said, adding that the agency will also go after insiders in government agencies who allow cartels and syndicates to operate. - Mkini