Gerak Independent baffled over top graft buster's case 'resolved'

SHAH ALAM - Gerak Independent has expressed shock over de facto law minister Datuk Seri Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar’s statement that top buster Azam Baki's share trade case has been resolved.

In a statement today, it said Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob should be aware that when this controversy broke, MPs and civil societies urged the government to send Azam on garden leave while allegations were investigated.

However, the call went unheeded by Ismail Sabri despite him having jurisdiction over the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), it said.

Yesterday, Wan Junaidi told the Dewan Rakyat that the issue over the share ownership of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki has been resolved.

He was responding to a parliamentary question from Lim Lip Eng (PH-Kepong), who asked how many agencies were involved in investigating Azam and the status of the investigations.

Gerak Independent further stated the events after the case was first reported in December.

"When Ismail Sabri said Securities Commission would investigate if Azam had violated the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991, the MACC reacted that it would investigate senior SC members for corruption, based on a report lodged by an NGO.

"Not long after, SC issued a brief statement voicing its inability to 'conclusively establish' if Azam had breached the law," it added.

The group also raised concerns after Azam's meeting with Parliamentary Special Select Committee was postponed indefinitely.

“The Prime Minister and the Cabinet need to act in the interest of the nation and institute an independent investigation, heeding, in particular, the call by the Bar Council to establish a Royal Commission of Inquiry.

“If the Prime Minister refuses to institute an independent investigation into this controversy, this amounts to a serious dereliction of duty,” the movement added.