Key partner in Malaysia’s ruling coalition calls for royal inquiry into anti-graft agency

KUALA LUMPUR – A key party in Malaysia’s ruling coalition called on Feb 25 for a royal commission of inquiry (RCI) to be formed to investigate misconduct allegations against the country’s anti-graft agency.

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) and its chief have been

the focus of a public outcry

, following multiple media reports earlier in February accusing it of misconduct and breaching public service laws, among other allegations.

Bloomberg reported that MACC officials were helping a group of businessmen to seize control of companies. Reuters has not independently verified the report, which cited internal documents and interviews with witnesses.

MACC said the allegations were “baseless”, saying in a statement on Feb 24 that they were an attempt to discredit its investigations and enforcement actions within the corporate sector.

However, the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a key member of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s administration, said it will push for an inquiry into the allegations, calling MACC’s denial “insufficient”.

“There must be an inquiry into the allegations made, and that inquiry ought to be by way of an RCI equipped with all those powers necessary to ensure an effective and transparent probe into the matter,” DAP national chairman Gobind Singh Deo, who is also a Cabinet minister, said in a statement on Feb 25.

The DAP’s leader, Mr Anthony Loke, who is also Transport Minister, said he would

propose the formation of the RCI

during the Cabinet meeting on Feb 27, local media reported on Feb 24.

Datuk Seri Anwar’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The government formed a special committee earlier in February to investigate the MACC’s chief following a separate media report alleging a breach of shareholding laws. REUTERS