Pm Risks Anti Graft Credibility By Keeping Azam Rafizi

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The Madani government’s fight against corruption will be jeopardised if Azam Baki’s tenure as MACC chief is continued for a fourth time, said former minister Rafizi Ramli.
The outspoken former PKR deputy president added that his party’s decades-long credibility in fighting graft would also be forgotten were Azam’s term to be extended beyond May 2026.
“If it is extended for the fourth time, whatever (Prime Minister) Anwar Ibrahim has said about fighting corruption would be similar to ‘pouring water on tapioca leaves’,” Rafizi said, using the Malay adage of saying something that is ignored.
“I have the right to say this because I have invested a lot of my time in fighting graft,” he said in the latest episode of his podcast “Yang Berhenti Menteri”.
“There is no one in Pakatan Harapan who has gone to jail as often as I have for exposing corruption… We spent decades building this credibility, but it can all disappear just like that.”
Rafizi was asked to comment on Azam’s statement that his term as MACC chief commissioner will unlikely be extended when it ends in May 2026.
Former minister Rafizi Ramli“God willing, next year, my service comes to an end. It has been extended three times. People already don’t like me. Rafizi also does not like me. He said, ‘Don’t extend Azam Baki’,” Azam had reportedly said.
Changing stances on Azam
In his podcast, Rafizi said the public’s perception towards Anwar’s anti-graft drive has eroded after the prime minister changed his stance concerning Azam.
In 2020, PKR’s position was that Azam should have resigned after the Securities Commission found that he had breached regulations for using his brother’s account to trade on the stock market, Rafizi said.
“This stance should not change, but now Anwar is praising Azam for being courageous.”
However, Rafizi added that it was not too late for Anwar and the Madani government to repair its anti-graft credentials, but it must go beyond just replacing the MACC chief.
“The people will assess your sincerity. If Azam’s term is not extended, whoever replaces him will determine whether the public will trust you again.
“What will be your actions to go after the big sharks? The people want to see that”.
Merely prosecuting individuals such as former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former finance minister Daim Zainuddin is only popular among PKR circles, Rafizi added.
“The people don’t share the same view. They support you if you go after anyone. But if you only go after two or three of these sharks, the people think it is selective prosecution”.
The Farhash factor
For instance, Rafizi questioned why individuals who are close to Anwar, such as the prime minister’s ex-aide and businessperson Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal Mubarak, have not been probed.
“Why is it that until now, Farhash has not been given the same treatment? He has to prove how he managed to amass such wealth in such a short period of time”.
Farhash Wafa Salvador Rizal MubarakRafizi previously sounded the alarm about Farhash’s ties to Anwar, warning that the administration risks creating another scandal like 1MDB, which brought down ex-prime minister Najib Razak.
During an interview with KiniTV in September, Rafizi claimed that Farhash’s alleged influence over Anwar became apparent after the 2018 general election when the latter was considered a prime minister-in-waiting.
One month later, Farhash sued Rafizi for defamation over claims the latter made in two other videos. - Mkini

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