Anwar said chief secretary Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar will work with Attorney-General Dusuki Mokhtar and public service department director-general Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz to conduct a thorough investigation into allegations that Azam held 17.7 million shares in a financial services company.
“For now, let the chief secretary study the case. That is the usual process. We need to know how serious the allegations are and whether there is any basis for them.
“Only then will we decide if we need to move forward. We don’t want to simply pressure Azam because of these allegations,” he told reporters after Friday prayers here.
Anwar also said he did not want the allegations against Azam to disrupt MACC’s operations, especially its investigations into high-profile corruption cases.
“I have stressed to MACC that they must not care about what others think. They must carry out their duties bravely and firmly.
“This country must be saved from the evil scourge of corruption that has spread widely.”
He was asked whether Azam should step aside from his duties following the Cabinet’s decision today to establish a special committee, led by Shamsul, to investigate allegations over his share ownership.
The controversy over Azam’s shareholding arose from a Bloomberg report that he held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, or 1.7% of the company’s paid-up capital, worth about RM800,000 based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.
The report said Azam’s name still appeared on the company’s register of shareholders at the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
This is said to be in breach of a 2024 government circular which states that civil servants may hold shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies provided the holdings do not exceed 5% of the paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value.
Azam said the transaction was declared and the shares were disposed of last year.
His lawyers have sent a letter of demand to Bloomberg after claiming that the report published by the international news agency was malicious and had tarnished his and MACC’s reputation.