KUALA LUMPUR, March 3 — Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said today he disagreed with the allegations in a Bloomberg report that implicated Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, as he confronted allegations of preferential treatment in Parliament.
Anwar faces mounting public criticism for rejecting calls to put Azam on leave pending an investigation into his shareholdings.
Critics have alleged hypocrisy on Anwar’s part because he had also called for the MACC chief commissioner to be suspended when Azam was investigated for another shareholding fiasco in 2022.
When asked to explain, Anwar denied any inconsistency and said he believes Azam deserves due process.
“If you ask me if there is a difference (between my position then and now) I can answer,” he replied to Machang MP Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal.
“We shouldn’t have any prejudice. Whether or not the old proposal (that Azam be suspended) is followed, it must still adhere to due process. There must be a transparent investigation including on his shareholdings and the corporate mafia,” Anwar added.
“Both issues are not being covered up.”
Bloomberg’s special investigative report revealed Azam’s shares in listed companies and also ran a story alleging that top MACC officers had colluded with a group of businessmen to take over certain targeted companies.
This was the second time Azam had been implicated for the same alleged violation.
Both Azam and the MACC denied any wrongdoing.
Anwar told Parliament he disagreed with the report but still issued a directive to investigate the allegations.
“We need to wait for the report first and it should cover two issues. One is the share ownership and the other involves allegations carried by Bloomberg, which Machang (Wan Fayhsal) believes are verified, but I disagree with,” he said.
“Regardless because there are these allegations we still reviewed (the report) and we are investigating,” he added.
