Malaysia rejects MP’s request to get ex-graft chief Azam Baki’s share data
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Malaysia’s former anti-graft agency chief Azam Baki retired in May, with two investigations relating to him and the agency still pending.
PHOTO: BERNAMA
- Malaysia’s government refused a lawmaker’s request to disclose former anti-graft chief Azam Baki’s shareholding records, citing privacy and legal protections.
- Two investigations were launched into Azam’s shareholdings and alleged collusion involving anti-graft officials and businessmen, with findings yet to be publicly released.
- Azam retired in May, and a new chief has taken over; the government promises to publish investigation results once completed.
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KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s government rejected a lawmaker’s request for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to disclose former anti-graft agency chief Azam Baki’s shareholding records.
Azalina Othman, a minister overseeing law and institutional reform under the Prime Minister’s Department, said on July 7 that the share records were part of investigations, personal information and asset declarations protected under existing laws.
“It’s not a public document,” Azalina said in a written response to Lee Chean Chung, a lawmaker from Anwar’s Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Lee earlier on July 7 had asked for Azam’s shareholding records from 2012 to 2026.
Anwar’s Cabinet ordered a probe into Azam’s shareholdings after Bloomberg News reported in February that the former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner held stock in a financial services firm that was worth more than the allowed limit for public officials.
Azam has denied any wrongdoing.
The investigation was carried out by a three-person team of senior public servants led by the attorney general.
Findings were reported to Cabinet and the chief secretary to the government was asked in March to take next steps, but the report hasn’t yet been made public.
Another probe was ordered following a separate news story later in February, in which Bloomberg reported allegations that anti-graft officials had colluded with a network of businessmen nicknamed the corporate mafia to intimidate executives and oust them from their companies.
The commission, known as the MACC, denied the allegations.
The Cabinet ordered law enforcement agencies including the MACC to investigate the matter.
“The government provides assurances that all relevant aspects, including share ownership and compliance with prevailing regulations, were examined in the investigation, and appropriate actions have been taken based on the Committee’s findings,” Azalina said in her written statement.
Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said in April that Malaysia’s government would make any findings public once both investigations are completed, saying it was a “commitment from the Cabinet, specifically from the prime minister.”
Azam retired in May, with the two investigations relating to him and the agency still pending.
A new chief, former High Court judge Abdul Halim Aman, has taken over. BLOOMBERG
