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Protesters hold placards displaying the face of Azam Baki. Photo: EPA

In Malaysia, hundreds march against under-fire anti-graft chief Azam Baki

  • Black-clad protesters gathered in the suburban district of Bangsar outside Kuala Lumpur after police sealed off roads and metro stations in the commercial and cultural hub
  • Despite the protest, the government has signalled that a Securities Commission probe of Azam Baki’s share-trading row exonerates him – though critics suggest otherwise
Malaysia

More than 200 people from Malaysian civil society groups and opposition parties on Saturday staged a protest on the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur demanding that the country’s under-fire graft chief step down, defying a massive police presence and warning that the gathering was illegal.

Protesters clad in black shirts marched along a short stretch of road on Jalan Bangsar and chanted slogans against Azam Baki, the influential chief commissioner of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) who is currently embroiled in a share-trading controversy.

Many carried placards calling for the 58-year-old official to resign and chanted slogans that labelled Azam as a thief.

While there was a heavy police presence – the force had earlier indicated it was deploying 1,000 officers – the demonstration took place without incident.

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Protesters were also seen carrying the flags of the country’s main opposition parties, including the Democratic Action Party, the Parti Keadilan Rakyat led by national opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim and Pejuang – the new party founded by elder statesman Mahathir Mohamad.

“We want Azam Baki to be investigated, we want the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to be reformed,” said protest organiser Adam Adli, a member of the Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

The protest was a success given that it took place despite the “excessive reaction” from the authorities to seal off almost all of Kuala Lumpur, Adam said. His estimate was that about 600 people took part in the nearly 90-minute long demonstration.

A This Week in Asia reporter at the scene estimated that at least 200 people were present.

Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Azam Baki. Photo: EPA

Protest organisers had initially planned for the demonstration to take place near Kuala Lumpur’s historic Merdeka Square, but altered their plans after police on Friday announced plans to seal off major thoroughfares and 24 metro stations around the commercial hub.

The metro station at Bangsar, where the demonstration took place, was operational, allowing protesters to enter the trendy suburban district to join the protest.

Apart from the road blocks and metro service suspensions, police had also warned that the gathering was illegal and in breach of existing Covid-19 social gathering rules. There was no immediate comment from the force on whether action would be taken against those who took part in Saturday’s event.

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Lawyer Lim Wei Jiet was among observers who slammed the police reaction to the protest, saying they had misinterpreted the country’s Peaceful Assembly Act by stating that the gathering was against the law.

“How many times do we need to remind [the royal Malaysian Police Force]: We don’t need a permit from the police to peacefully assemble,” Lim wrote on Twitter, responding to a police statement that said organisers did not give prior approval for the demonstration.

“There is no requirement for a permit under the Peaceful Assembly Act … it is a constitutional right to assemble,” he said.

Azam Baki, a career graft buster who became the MACC’s chief in 2020, has been in the spotlight since December after a whistle-blower revealed that he owned shares in two companies that breached civil service rules that bar officials from owning more than 100,000 ringgit (US$24,000) in any company.

Protesters gather during a demonstration held to demand action against Azam Baki, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Photo: EPA

Faced with public questioning, Azam on January 5 said his brother had bought the shares with his trading account. This week, the Securities Commission – the country’s capital markets regulator – said it found that he had been responsible for the trades actioned on his account. That contradicted Azam’s account of events.

The government has signalled it has no intention to further pursue the matter after the Security Commission’s findings, eliciting anger from the opposition and activists, who claim Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is turning a blind eye to what is seen as clear impropriety by one of his top bureaucrats.

Azam, for his part, has insisted he is being targeted as part of a “political revenge” campaign, and says he committed no wrongdoing. He has launched a libel suit against the whistle-blower, Lalitha Kunaratnam, over her reports.

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