Anwar is said to oppose quick release of probe into graft chief

[KUALA LUMPUR] Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has urged officials to avoid immediately releasing a report on his anti-graft chief’s shareholdings to the public, people familiar with the matter said.

Anwar’s Cabinet in February ordered an investigation into whether the shareholdings of Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission Chief Commissioner Azam Baki breached legal limits. A three-person committee of senior civil servants led by the attorney-general reported its findings to the Cabinet, and the matter has since been referred to the chief secretary to the government for next steps. 

The Malaysian leader has asked key people involved to hold off on making the report or its findings public until investigators complete a separate probe into allegations made in a Bloomberg report about businessmen who worked with the anti-graft agency to oust company executives, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. Anwar’s concern is that making the shareholding report public would undermine perceptions of his government ahead of a possible general election that could come as early as this year, they said. 

The plan is to discuss the matter again in Cabinet after the investigation into the so-called corporate mafia, a network of businessmen alleged to have worked with MACC officials to intimidate and oust company executives, is completed, the people said. The Cabinet this month ordered Malaysian law enforcement agencies, including the MACC, to investigate the allegations of a so-called corporate mafia that worked with the anti-graft agency. It’s unclear how long that probe will take.

Anwar is poised to let Azam step aside after his term ends on May 12, Bloomberg reported earlier this month. Azam has been campaigning to be made a senator after he leaves the job, three people familiar with the matter said. Senators are chosen by state assemblies or Malaysia’s king on the advice of the prime minister, and can serve a maximum of two three-year terms.

Representatives from the Prime Minister’s Office didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Azam and representatives for MACC also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Two Bloomberg News reports published in February have caused a public outcry in Malaysia. The first, based on public records, was about shareholdings owned by Azam that were higher than allowed limits for public officials. The second was on allegations that the MACC was colluding with businessmen to target executives and oust them from companies. Azam and the MACC strongly denied the allegations.

Rafizi Ramli, a member of parliament from Anwar’s party and a former Cabinet minister, said this month that the probe allegedly uncovered that Azam owned shares worth RM14 million (S$4.4 million) in nine companies.

A 2024 Malaysian government circular, which provides guidance on 1993 regulations stipulating the conduct of public officials, says a public servant may purchase shares in a company incorporated in Malaysia on the condition they don’t exceed 5 per cent of its paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower. They also must declare assets at least once every five years and at the time of purchase and sale of holdings. Azam has denied any wrongdoing.

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Anthony Loke, a senior minister in Anwar’s Cabinet, had called for a Royal Commission of Inquiry into the separate allegations of a so-called corporate mafia. But he said on a podcast in March that he tried and failed to get the Cabinet to agree to this proposal. The government hasn’t responded to Loke’s comments. 

On March 13, police and Securities Commission officials raided the premises of Victor Chin, a Malaysian businessman mentioned in Bloomberg’s report as allegedly being involved in the scheme. Chin, who denies being part of the corporate mafia, has issued a series of press statements defending himself and alleging he is being made a scapegoat. He’s said any probe must also examine the role of the MACC and the police. BLOOMBERG