'Read his explanation' - PM's faith in Azam unshaken

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's faith in MACC chief Azam Baki is unshaken by the recent shareholding scandal that has hit the top graft buster.

Quizzed about calls for Azam to be sacked, Anwar retorted with a spirited defence of the MACC chief.

"Why should I sack someone who is doing their job?... Read his (Azam's) explanation.

"This is a sickness. A person is doing their job but you insult them, why? Wrong. Listen to his explanation," the prime minister told the media briefly last night.

He was met on the sidelines of the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) Chinese New Year celebration in Petaling Jaya.

Millions in shares

Bloomberg and Malaysiakini had separately reported that Companies Commission of Malaysia (CCM) records revealed that Azam had at some point held considerable shares in two public listed companies.

Azam had owned 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Partner Berhad and around 4.52 million shares in Awanbiru Technology Berhad.

The MACC chief said he had declared all his shareholdings to the Public Service Department and had disposed of his portfolio by July last year, though he did not mention a specific date.

Between June 1 and July 31 last year, Velocity Capital Partner shares had traded as low as RM0.06 per share and RM0.075 per share.

MACC chief Azam Baki

If Azam had disposed of his shares in the company during this period, the value of the shares could have been between RM1.06 million and RM1.327 million.

As for Awanbiru Technology, their share prices during the June 1 and July 31, 2025 period ranged from RM0.275 per share to RM0.305.

If Azam had disposed of his shares in the company during this period, the value of the shares could have been between RM1.24 million and RM1.378 million.

RM100k limit

The potential value of the MACC chief's shareholdings had triggered questions of whether he had violated a civil service rule that limits share purchases to not more than five percent of paid-up capital or RM100,000 at current value.

Azam responded yesterday by saying that his shareholding did not involve paid-up capital but was instead acquired through purchases on the open market.

Malaysiakini has contacted Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar for comment regarding Azam's case.

The revelations about Azam's shareholdings have prompted calls from government backbenchers and the opposition for the MACC chief to resign, be suspended or sacked, and be investigated.

This is the second time the MACC chief has been in the spotlight over his stock trading portfolio.

In late 2021, he had come under scrutiny over shareholdings in a company that was also in excess of the RM100,000 limit.

In January 2022, Azam said he had informed the MACC Corruption Prevention Advisory Board that the shares were bought by his brother, who borrowed his name, and that he believed he did not do anything wrong.

A protest against Azam Baki took place following the first scandal in January 2022

The declaration triggered a Securities Commission probe that eventually found no evidence of proxy trading as Azam had “control” over his own trading account.

On Jan 20, 2022, Anwar, then the opposition leader, pledged to raise the matter with then-prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

This was after PKR Youth handed him a memorandum, which, among others, called for MACC chiefs to declare their assets.

Since taking power as prime minister in November 2022, however, Anwar has become a staunch supporter of Azam, once declaring that the latter was the only one brave enough to go after corrupt leaders.

Anwar has extended Azam's contract as MACC chief past retirement three times. - Mkini