Why Azam is not prepared to say that he is prepared appear before the Parliamentary SSC on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department to clear himself of the conflict-of-interest allegation against him first made more than two months ago

The Chairman of the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Abu Zahar Ujang said the MACC Chief Commissioner Azam Baki had told the Board on Nov. 24 that his trading account was used by his brother to acquire shares in two companies in 2015.

Abu Zahar said the Board was satisfied with Azam's explanation that he had neither pecuniary interest nor conflict of interest in the acquisition of those shares.

The pertinent question is why Azam is not prepared to say that he is prepared to appear before the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department; to clear himself of the conflict-of-interest allegations first made against him more than two months ago.

Furthermore, is his brother prepared to appear before the Parliamentary SSC?

Surely a clearance of any conflict-of-interest by the Parliamentary SSC on Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department has more credibility and value than a clearance from one of MACC’s own committees.

In this connection, the MACC owes the medical profession a full apology for releasing an advertisement about corrupt doctors at a time when the MACC is facing questions about its own integrity.

The ‘anti-corruption' awareness video posted by the MACC on Twitter depicted an example of how bribery may take place at a clinic to obtain a medical certificate (MC).

The Malaysian Medical Association (MMA) president Dr Koh Kar Chai is right in his criticism of the video as “an insult to the sanctity and image of the medical profession”.

Why didn’t the MACC released a video depicting the corruption of Ministers or MPs?

I am generally disappointed by the MACC “tell-all” press conference today, as it had left many questions unanswered.

I had said that Malaysians and the world are worried that Malaysia will slide back to become again a kleptocracy and I had asked the “tell-all” MACC press conference tell Malaysians what the MACC is doing to prevent Malaysia sliding back as a kleptocracy and what the MACC expect of the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index 2021 with regard to Malaysia, as the TI CPI 2021 is expected to be released later this month.

Yesterday, a senior MACC enforcement officer was charged in court for the misappropriation of RM25 million of cash evidence linked to a major corruption case.

It is the for the courts to decide whether the senior MACC officer was guilty.

But if the MACC is having problems inculcating the value of integrity among MACC officers, how does the MACC expect to be successful in inculcating the value of Integrity among the Malaysian population?

Shouldn’t the subject of integrity and anti-corruption be taught in schools from the primary level onwards?

Electoral watchdog Bersih has criticised Putrajaya for appointing Alor Gajah MP Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof as the chairperson of Boustead Holdings Bhd, on the ground that the appointment was unethical as it was an attempt to solicit support.

Bersih said the appointment presented the possibility of systemic abuse which will only come at the expense of the country’s development and the economic performance of government agencies, especially large-scale financial abuses like the 1MDB scandal.

What is the MACC’s position on Redzuan’s appointment?

Lim Kit Siang MP for Iskandar Puteri