Reform group asks MACC chief to go on ‘garden leave’

PETALING JAYA: A political reform group, Gerak Independent Movement, has called for Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Azam Baki to go on “garden leave” immediately until he is cleared of an alleged conflict of interest over his share-holdings.

The group has also urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob to launch an independent investigation into the allegations against Azam, preferably by a bi-partisan parliamentary committee.

In a statement, Gerak said the credibility of MACC is under question. “It is now actually under intense public scrutiny,” the group said, urging the government to carry out a transparent investigation.

Gerak, which aims to field independent candidates at the next general election, is led by Tawfik Ismail, the son of former deputy prime minister Dr Ismail Abdul Rahman.

It called for recognition of the service performed to the country by political economist Edmund Terrence Gomez, who recently resigned in protest from an MACC advisory panel over the lack of action over the allegations against Azam.

The group said Gomez should “not be harangued for simply doing his job”. Gerak said there were also attempts to turn the concerns raised by Gomez into a racial issue, but said Gomez was not known to make “baseless accusations”, and that his career bears testament to his unquestionable integrity.

Gomez had said in his resignation letter that he had raised with two MACC panels his concerns about the allegations against Azam, concerning his alleged ownership of millions in publicly traded shares. — Free Malaysia Today