Evidence First Says Pssc Chair Over Calls For Azam To Go On Leave

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With several quarters urging MACC chief commissioner Azam Baki to resign or go on leave after being linked to a scandal, the head of the parliamentary special select committee on human rights, election, and institutional reform shared a different view.
Its chairperson, William Leong, said the mere mention of someone’s name is not enough to call for an individual to go on leave pending an investigation.
“It depends very much on facts and evidence. The mere mention of the name should not be sufficient to require the person to take leave.
“I think there must be some evidence before requiring the person to be on leave,” Leong, who is the Selayang MP, told Malaysiakini.
Chairperson of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on Human Rights, Election, and Institutional Reform, William LeongIn a video exposé on Nov 25, a woman claiming to be Shamsul Iskandar Akin’s proxy said the PKR leader met with Azam (above) at an undisclosed time to ask the MACC chief to “settle” businessperson Albert Tei’s case, referring to the Sabah mining scandal.
“He (Shamsul) himself asked (Azam) to try and ease your case, try to settle it as best as possible, don’t let it drag out,” said Sofia Rini Buyong, who was speaking to Tei behind the camera.
The woman said that Shamsul, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s political secretary at that time, had met with Azam, as he too was implicated in the Sabah scandal and was summoned by the MACC chief.
“He (Shamsul) told Azam that he did help you to meet with (Sabah caretaker chief minister) Hajiji (Noor) and all that,” she said.
When asked by Tei whether Shamsul told the MACC chief that the Sabah scandal recordings were “PMX’s orders”, the woman replied: “Azam knows”.
Screenshot of the video posted on Tuesday shows Sofia’s face blurred while speaking to businessperson Albert Tei‘No credibility to investigate’
Subsequently, Tei’s lawyer, Mahajoth Singh, called for Azam to resign or go on garden leave, adding that MACC cannot lawfully or credibly investigate the allegations as long as Azam remains the head of the commission.
Two MPs, PAS’ Ahmad Fadhli Shaari and PKR’s Hassan Abdul Karim, also urged Azam to recuse himself from investigating the mining scandal, with the latter even calling for Anwar to be investigated if the video is proven to be authentic.
Shamsul has since resigned as Anwar’s political aide and lodged a police report on the accusations levelled against him.
He is due to give a statement to MACC later today. - Mkini

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