‘About time for a royal inquiry’

Solid consensus: MCA Youth committee members making a statement on the four demands listed in a memorandum to be submitted to the Prime Minister.

PETALING JAYA: A Royal Commis­sion of Inquiry (RCI) must be set up to investigate allegations of a “corporate mafia” and excessive shareholding involving Malaysian Anti-Corruption Com­mission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, says the MCA Youth central committee.

The RCI is necessary as internal investigations or ordinary admi­nistrative reviews are insufficient, it said.

“By forming an RCI, the government can conduct a comprehensive investigation not only into the shareholding issue but also into allegations of a so-called ‘corporate mafia’ or possible power abuse within the MACC, ensuring that all concerns are thoroughly examined,” it said in a statement.

The call to set up an RCI is part of the four demands of MCA Youth when it submits a memorandum to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow.

According to its central committee, the decision to submit the memorandum was unanimously agreed during a meeting on March 6.

MCA Youth is also calling for Azam to temporarily step aside as MACC chief commissioner pen­ding an investigation into the shareholding controversy.

In its memorandum, it also suggested that the government place the MACC under Parliament’s purview as part of institutional reforms. It pointed out that MACC being placed with the Prime Minister’s Department now had led to concerns about excessive powers in the executive branch.

MCA Youth also called for the establishment of an independent monitoring body or strengthe­ning of an existing oversight committee to ensure that MACC’s enforcement, probe and internal management are subject to external supervision.

“This is to ensure that the MACC becomes a truly independent, transparent and properly supervised anti-corruption body, rather than remaining mired in recurring controversies that risk undermining the credibility of the government as a whole,” it added.

Government spokesperson Datuk Fahmi Fadzil said on Feb 13 that a special committee chaired by Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar had been established to investigate claims that Azam held a significant stake in a financial services company.

This came following a Bloomberg report outlining, among others, allegations against Azam and about some businessmen, supposedly working with certain MACC officers, in a “corporate mafia” network.

Azam has filed a RM100mil defa­mation suit against Bloom­berg, while MACC has also dispelled talk about the existence of a “corporate mafia”.