PETALING JAYA: Investigations into any public-listed company must be rooted in strong and objective evidence because a heavy-handed approach by authorities could adversely affect stakeholders, says Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong.
The MCA president said that freezing a public-listed company's accounts without credible evidence could dent business operations and even shareholders' confidence.
"Share prices could collapse and next, retail investors will lose big despite being innocent.
"Investigations must be transparent. It must also be targeted and professional.
"Don't burn down the economic net of the people just because of one or two mosquitoes there," said Dr Wee in a video published on Facebook on Tuesday (Feb 24).
Dr Wee cited the case of lingerie maker Caely Holdings Bhd, whose bank accounts were frozen in April 2022 following a freeze order by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
"It (the freeze order) paralysed company operations, they could not make payments to suppliers and their workers," he added.
"After the accounts of Caely Holdings Bhd were unfrozen in January 2023, its share prices dropped from RM0.35 in April 18, 2022 to RM0.235 in January 2023," said Dr Wee.
"This is a 33% drop," he said.
"This was after they announced that the MACC had stopped investigations and were not filing any charges," he added.
Dr Wee said a similar situation happened to Rohas Tecnic Bhd, whose bank accounts were seized and frozen in October 2025 due to an investigation regarding an old contract under the Anti-Money Laundering, Anti-Terrorism Financing, and Proceeds of Unlawful Activities Act 2001 (Amla).
"But, in November 2025, through a filing to Bursa Malaysia, they informed them that the freeze order had been lifted and the seizure order was lifted shortly after.
"This sort of interference should not happen without a solid basis.
"A public-listed company is not the absolute personal property of the director alone, and instead, it belongs to the public and the people," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Wee said the latest "corporate mafia" issue demands serious public attention, as corruption issues must not be taken lightly.
"Because, it is the flow of illicit funds that destroys a country. That is why, I understand, that powers under Amla are very important.
"In short, Amla is a needed enforcement tool to break the chain of crime, freeze proceeds of criminal activities and prevent criminals from escaping with ill-gotten gains," said Dr Wee.
The "corporate mafia" controversy Dr Wee referred to is over a recent series of stories by Bloomberg which claimed that the MACC chief was involved in a syndicate that intimidates companies into selling their shares.
MACC Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has strongly denied all accusations and had filed a lawsuit seeking RM100mil in damages against Bloomberg.
Azam is currently being probed by a committee led by Chief Secretary to the Government Shamsul Azri Bakar.
