KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 13 — PKR’s Datuk Seri Rafizi Ramli said he will formally approach electoral reform group Bersih to organise a rally expressing dissatisfaction with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) following allegations raised in a Bloomberg report.
According to Free Malaysia Today, Rafizi said he had received messages from several individuals urging him to spearhead a protest, but maintained that Bersih would be better placed to take the lead and determine a suitable date.
He added that the gathering could potentially be the first to be held during the fasting month.
The move comes after Bloomberg reported that MACC chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki held 17.7 million shares, or a 1.7 per cent stake, in Velocity Capital Bhd based on the company’s annual return filed on February 3 last year.
The report also stated that his name appeared in the shareholder register maintained by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Azam has been accused of breaching a 2024 government circular that caps civil servants’ shareholdings in Malaysian-incorporated companies at five per cent of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.
He has said the transaction was declared and that the shares were disposed of last year. Azam has also filed a RM100 million suit against Bloomberg over the report.
In a separate article, Bloomberg alleged that MACC had worked with certain businessmen “to support the interests of private citizens by threatening, arresting and detaining executives, sometimes recommending charges against them”.
The commission rejected claims that its investigations were influenced by private interests, stating that all probes were conducted “strictly in accordance with the law, guided by evidence, and carried out independently without fear or favour”.
Rafizi also said he plans to urge Members of Parliament from both sides of the aisle to engage with constituents on the controversy surrounding MACC.
He added that he would write to MPs from DAP and Amanah to press Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to suspend Azam.
The former economy minister further indicated that he intends to lodge a police report after the Chinese New Year celebrations over allegations, cited in the Bloomberg report, that Azam had interfered in a case.
Earlier reports said a separate rally has been planned by the #TangkapAzamBaki Secretariat, which is scheduled to gather in front of the Sogo shopping mall in Kuala Lumpur to call for Azam’s resignation, an investigation into the allegations, and the revocation of his adjunct professor title at public universities.
A similar protest was held in January 2022 following earlier reports concerning Azam’s share trading activities.
Malay Mail – Malaysia
