Malaysia’s King says he will choose a new anti-graft chief

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s King said he would select a new anti-graft chief, the first official confirmation that current head Azam Baki’s term will not be renewed when it ends in May.

“I will determine who is the best candidate to lead the MACC from now on,” Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, the current monarch, said in an Instagram post on April 23, referring to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission. He added that “there is no need for any party to politicise the matter”.

Representatives for the palace, the Prime Minister’s Office and the MACC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tan Sri Azam, 62, has been under scrutiny since Bloomberg News published two reports in February.

One focused on shareholdings in a financial services firm that were worth more than the allowed limit for public officials.

The other contained allegations that a group of businessmen was working with MACC officials to intimidate executives and oust them from companies.

Mr Azam and the MACC strongly denied the allegations in the reports.

Mr Azam’s one-year term is due to end on May 12.

The MACC chief commissioner is chosen by the King on the advice of the prime minister.

Sultan Ibrahim, who is serving a five-year term as King under Malaysia’s unique rotating monarchy, said in his post on April 23 that the position of MACC chief is very important in ensuring that the agency continues to play an effective role as the country’s main institution in combating corruption, malpractice and abuse of power.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Cabinet ordered an investigation by a panel of senior public officials led by the Attorney-General into Mr Azam’s shareholdings.

The panel then submitted its findings to the Cabinet, which in March ordered the chief secretary to the government to take the next steps.

The Cabinet ordered law enforcement and other agencies, including the MACC, to investigate separate allegations that a network of businessmen nicknamed the corporate mafia was colluding with MACC officials to oust executives.

A key party in Datuk Seri Anwar’s ruling coalition had called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the matter.

Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil said on April 1 that the findings of a probe into Mr Azam’s shareholdings would be made public “once both aspects of the investigation are completed”.

Mr Azam has been the face of Mr Anwar’s anti-corruption drive since the 78-year-old politician became prime minister in 2022.

Mr Anwar had previously praised Mr Azam for investigating tycoons and politically connected figures.

A career anti-corruption officer, Mr Azam joined the MACC’s predecessor agency in 1984.

He became MACC chief in 2020 and has stayed in the role, serving under three prime ministers.

Mr Anwar has extended Mr Azam’s term three times.

Bloomberg reported on Feb 10 that Mr Azam owned 17.7 million shares of Velocity Capital Partner, according to an annual filing by the firm to the Companies Commission of Malaysia.

That stake would have been worth almost RM800,000 (S$256,000) at the time of the report.

A 2024 Malaysian government circular, which provides guidance on 1993 regulations stipulating the conduct of public officials, says a public servant may purchase shares in a company incorporated in Malaysia on the condition that they do not exceed 5 per cent of its paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.

Mr Azam had previously rebuffed calls from lawmakers and civil society groups to step aside.

Mr Anwar had defended Mr Azam after the Bloomberg report on the MACC chief’s shareholdings.

The Prime Minister urged officials to avoid immediately releasing a report on Mr Azam’s shares to the public, Bloomberg reported in March, citing people familiar with the matter.

The government strongly denied the report. BLOOMBERG