KSN to take follow-up action on Azam Baki shareholding issue, says Fahmi

PUTRAJAYA (March 11): Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar will take follow-up action regarding the shareholding issue involving Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Chief Commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki, said Communications Minister Datuk Fahmi Fadzil .

Fahmi, who is also the Madani Government spokesman, said the Cabinet meeting today had received and discussed the findings of the investigation report by the Attorney-General on the shareholding issue.

“The Cabinet has decided that further action will be taken by the Chief Secretary to the Government and I will not disclose the outcome of the report as there are subsequent steps that need to be carried out by Tan Sri KSN.

“For further information, we will wait for a statement from the KSN, which I believe will be issued in the not too distant future,” he said at the post-Cabinet meeting press conference here today.

Yesterday, Shamsul Azri said the report by the Special Investigation Committee regarding the share ownership issue involving Azam would be reviewed by the Public Service Department (JPA) Disciplinary Board soon.

He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and he had received the report from the committee’s chairman Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar, who is also the Attorney General.

The government had previously established a special committee to investigate all allegations and related matters linked to the MACC Chief Commissioner.

The move followed a Bloomberg report which alleged that Azam held millions of shares in a financial services company based on corporate filings.

However, Azam at a recent press conference asserted that his shareholding worth RM800,000 in a financial services company was conducted transparently and in accordance with procedures.

Commenting on allegations of corporate manipulation reported by several media outlets, Fahmi said the Cabinet was informed today that investigations involving several individuals had already begun several years ago.

“Therefore, the directive issued by the Cabinet to enforcement bodies including the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM), the Securities Commission, the MACC and the Inland Revenue Board (LHDN) is to continue the investigations comprehensively,” he said.

Fahmi said the investigations should not be limited to the individuals who are currently the initial focus, but should be expanded if there are other parties involved.

He said enforcement agencies had also been instructed to take appropriate legal action, including seizing assets believed to contain elements of criminal proceeds.

Fahmi also said authorities had been asked to examine whether there were any gaps in existing laws that might have allowed actions believed to involve corporate manipulation to occur.

The government had earlier announced the establishment of a Special Investigation Committee on the corporate manipulation issue involving Azam Baki, chaired by Attorney General Tan Sri Mohd Dusuki Mokhtar. – Bernama