MACC investigative process must be transparent, says IDEAS

SHAH ALAM - Institute For Democracy And Economic Affairs (IDEAS) Senior Manager, Aira Azhari stated that there is a need for the investigative process of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to be transparent to the people.

She mentioned that the people have the right to be informed of the details of the investigative process done by the MACC especially for high ranking public officials following the share trading controversy surrounding the commission's chief, Tan Sri Azam Baki.

“What we need to be concerned about is why we don’t know what the investigative process is.

“As the people, we deserve to know what are the processes that are in place if our most high ranking public official gets accused, and it’s such a serious accusation at that,” she said during the Wacana English Edition last night.

She also said that it is crucial for the MACC to be transparent in order to restore the people's trust in the anti-graft body.

Aira was a panellist during Sinar Dailly's Wacana, dubbed "Reforming MACC - With or Without Azam Baki", where they discuss much-needed reforms for the MACC.

Also present is Center to Combat Corruption and Cronyism (C4) Founding Director, Cynthia Gabriel and Singapore Institute of International Affairs Political Analyst, Dr. Oh Ei Sun.

The controversy surrounding Azam began with the revelation that he had allegedly owned publicly traded shares in the millions.

However, Azam in a press conference earlier this year, said that he had no interest or benefits in the shares purchased and that the shares were bought through the open market by his brother, Nasir Baki, using his own funds, and the shares of companies bought by his brother had nothing to do with the MACC's investigation.

The Securities Commission Malaysia, which regulates the capital markets, had stated that they had not found any conclusive evidence that Azam had breached Section 25 of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act (SICDA), where every security account opened with a central depository must be in the name of the beneficial owner of the deposited securities or in the name of an authorised nominee.

On Jan 22, a protest attended by hundreds of people was held in Kuala Lumpur where they had called for Azam's arrest.