KUALA LUMPUR – Prof Dr. Edmund Terence Gomez has resigned from the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission’s (MACC) Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel yesterday, in protest of the panel’s inaction against the Chief Commissioner of MACC, Datuk Seri Azam Baki’s alleged share ownership in public listed companies.
The media reported earlier that the Azam allegedly held stakes in Gets Global Berhad (formerly known as KBES Berhad). On 30 April 2015, the MACC Director-General owned 930,000 shares in Gets Global and 1,029,000 shares on 31 March 2016.
Besides that, as of 21 March 2016, Azam also held 2,156,000 warrants in Excel Force MSC Berhad.
In Gomez’s letter to Tan Sri Borhan Dolah, the Chairman of MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, he said that the reports, among others, have raised raise disturbing questions about the “nexus between business and law enforcement” and a “conflict of interest” situation involving Tan Sri Azam Baki, including if he had declared his extensive ownership of corporate stock as required by law.
“I wrote to you on Nov 12, asking that you convene a meeting of our Panel. You responded immediately stating that you would call a meeting and that you would ask the MACC’s administrative staff to organise it.
“Two weeks later, I wrote to you again on Nov 26, this time attaching more information I had received on the business links of Azam’s family. I stressed that this information was deeply troubling as it was based on extensive research,” said Gomez.
“The author of these news reports had also listed her name, indicating she was available to discuss this matter with the Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel,” Gomez wrote.
In his latest letter to Borhan on 14 December, a month after the issue was brought to the attention of the panel’s Chairman, once again, Gomez said that he did not receive any response.
“My reason for submitting this resignation is my grave concern that you, as Chairman of the Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel, have not convened a meeting to discuss a critical issue of national interest that I had brought to your attention one month ago,” said the Professor of Political Economy at the Faculty of Economics & Administration, University of Malaya.
Besides Borhan, Gomez has also written to Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang, the MACC Anti-Corruption Advisory Board Chairman thrice but he also failed to elicit any response.
Gomez also said that Azam has not made any public statement to respond to the two reports published by the media. He also did not answer to the public statements made by the Members of Parliament on his business interests. His silence against these serious allegations reflects on the reaction given by the panel.
The economist also expressed his deep regrets that he could not convince Borhan and Abu Zahar to act immediately and transparently on the matter. -MalaysiaGazette
