‘Legal complications' caused indefinite postponement of Azam’s meeting with PSC, says Abdul Latiff

PETALING JAYA: The indefinite postponement of a special Parliament Select Committee (PSC) on Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) meeting about Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki was due to several legal complications, says Abdul Latiff Abdul Rahman (pic).

The Kuala Krai MP, who leads the eighth-member PSC for Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department, said the meeting scheduled for Jan 19 (Wednesday), was delayed due to several issues that needed legal opinions from the Parliament’s Legal Advisor’s Office, which in turn needed time to scrutinise the matter.

“This is because it is quite complicated and an answer could not be furnished before Wednesday (Jan 19), therefore several committee members suggested to postpone the meeting and I agreed.

“The letter informing of the delay was issued by the Dewan Rakyat Secretary on Jan 17 to all nine members of the committee,” said Abdul Latiff in a statement issued late Tuesday (Jan 18).

Among the MPs in the nine-member PSC for Agencies under the Prime Minister’s Department are Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman, Kota Kinabalu MP Chan Foong Hin and Selayang MP William Leong.

In a statement on Monday (Jan 17), Dewan Rakyat Secretary Dr Nizam Mydin Bacha Mydin said the special meeting into Azam’s stock trading scandal was postponed.

In a statement on Tuesday (Jan 18) afternoon, the Securities Commission said it was not able to determine whether there was a breach of regulations in relation to Azam’s trading account.

“The said inquiry relates to the issue of whether a potential breach under Section 25(4) of the SICDA occurred. Section 25(4) provides that a trading account must be opened in the name of the beneficial owner or authorised nominee.

“The SC has concluded its enquiry and based on the evidence gathered, the SC is not able to conclusively establish that a breach under Section 25(4) of the Securities Industry (Central Depositories) Act 1991 (SICDA) has occurred,” said the SC on Tuesday.

In a statement Tuesday, Azam said he was grateful that the SC had “found no wrongdoing" on his part.

“I was informed by the SC that investigations on the matter has been concluded and therefore, the commission decided to close the inquiry.

“Therefore, I will continue my responsibilities as the MACC chief commissioner in battling graft,” he said.

The controversy involved substantial amounts of shares bought from Gets Global Bhd and Excel Force MSC Bhd between 2015 and 2016 when Azam was the MACC director of investigations.