KUALA LUMPUR — Participants of the "Tangkap Azam Baki" rally began moving slowly towards Dataran Merdeka here under police supervision on Saturday.
Several police vehicles carrying Light Strike Force (LSF) personnel were also seen deployed around the area to ensure no untoward incidents occurred.
Earlier, the rally — which began at around 3pm — was jolted by a loud bang believed to have been caused by a firecracker explosion.
However, the situation was swiftly brought under control by police and it is understood that no individuals were injured in the incident.
The rally had drawn activists, students and opposition figures to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand accountability from outgoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Tan Sri Azam Baki, whose tenure ends on May 12.
Organisers had earlier confirmed the protest would proceed despite the government’s announcement today that Datuk Seri Abdul Halim Aman would succeed Azam as MACC chief commissioner effective May 13.
Muda president and Puteri Wangsa assemblyman Amira Aisya had stated the rally was “not about one individual alone” but about a system that “has festered and needs to be overhauled immediately.”
The protest carried two core demands — the establishment of a Royal Commission of Inquiry (RCI) to investigate Azam Baki, and a reform of the MACC chief appointment process to involve Parliament rather than leaving it solely in the hands of the Prime Minister.
Azam had faced sustained calls to step down following media reports in February accusing him and other senior MACC officials of misconduct and breaches of public service rules — allegations he and the commission have described as “baseless.”
His contract had been extended three times since his initial appointment in March 2020, with one-year extensions granted in May 2023, May 2024 and May 2025 — a tenure that had already surpassed the mandatory retirement age of 60 for public officials.