Blast disrupts ‘Tangkap Azam Baki’ rally in KL, police cordon off area
It is understood that some participants were injured, however their latest condition has yet to be confirmed.
KUALA LUMPUR — Chaos broke out at the ‘Tangkap Azam Baki’ rally after firecrackers exploded in front of a shopping mall here on Saturday.
The incident occurred at around 3.30pm while student groups were delivering speeches from atop a four-wheel-drive vehicle.
Sinar, which was present at the scene, observed that several of the blasts had hit the surrounding shop premises area.
It is understood that some participants were injured, however their latest condition has yet to be confirmed.
The explosion site was subsequently cordoned off by police officers with yellow tape for further investigation.
The rally, dubbed “Tangkap Azam Baki,” had drawn activists, students and opposition figures to the streets of Kuala Lumpur to demand accountability from outgoing Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner 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 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 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.
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