DAP desperately trying to turn ‘Azam-gate’ into ‘1MDB version 2.0’

(MMO) – Opposition lawmaker Lim Kit Siang has once again told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob that it is time he got on top of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief’s Tan Sri Azam Baki proxy stock trading case.

The DAP veteran said, in a statement, that while the prime minister appears more concerned with last month’s flood emergency, in light of yesterday’s Special Parliament sitting on the matter, the fact he did not return for the winding-up appeared to indicate otherwise.

Hence, the Iskandar Puteri MP urged Ismail Sabri to turn his attention to the allegations that continue to dog Azam and state his position on the MACC chief’s future.

“What is Ismail Sabri’s position on the No. 1 crisis in the country — the Azam-gate — which had been the top news in the country for more than three weeks?

“Does the prime minister really believe Azam Baki — whether he lied or not, whether the Securities Commission has really cleared him or not, whether his case had been referred to the attorney general or not or whether he had committed contempt against Parliament or not — is the best example in the public service of integrity, probity and accountability?

“If so, something is very rotten with Malaysia!” he said in a statement today.

Yesterday, Ismail Sabri took a veiled swipe at Opposition MPs for going missing during the massive floods that hit the country last month while claiming that he had been on the scene since day one of the disaster.

His remarks caused several Pakatan Harapan (PH) MPs to stand up to protest the accusation.

Three days ago, Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) issued a statement saying it had wrapped its inquiry on Azam’s controversial acquisition of public shares and found no conclusive evidence that he broke stock trading rules.

The SC began looking into the issue earlier this month after Azam openly admitted in a news conference that his brother, Nasir Baki, had used his share trading account — with his permission — to buy millions of shares in two public-listed companies back in 2015.

The SC said it did not conclusively find that Azam committed any breach under section 25(4) Securities Central Depository Act 1991 (SICDA) that a trading account must be opened in the name of the beneficial owner or authorised nominee.

Shortly after that, Azam issued a statement declaring that the SC had found him innocent and that he would continue work as usual.

The PSC on Agencies had summoned Azam for questioning this week, but postponed it to an unspecified date after he refused on grounds that he was already under probe by other agencies.

Azam is also being investigated by the MACC Complaints Committee.