Over 150 participants, dressed in black attire, gathered in front of the Sogo shopping mall here amid heavy police presence.
They were heard chanting “Step down, step down, Azam Baki” and “Rise up, youths” while holding placards with the words “We are against double standards” and “Exposed by Bloomberg”.
Also sighted at the gathering were Subang MP Wong Chen, Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, acting Muda president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz, controversial businessman Albert Tei, Bersih chairman Faisal Abdul Aziz, and activist Hishamuddin Rais.
Addressing the rally-goers, Amira said the nation’s laws are constantly being toyed with and manipulated. “Malaysian youth will not remain silent until Azam Baki is arrested.”
Meanwhile, Nik Nazmi said the MACC chief commissioner must be investigated by an independent body, not merely by government officials.
“While the investigation is ongoing, Azam should step down or take leave from his position,” he said, repeating calls previously made by the G25 group of prominent retired civil servants and several other MPs.
Organisers of the rally, the #TangkapAzamBaki Secretariat, had claimed that the MACC chief’s share ownership had eroded public confidence in the anti-graft agency.
Bloomberg News previously reported that Azam held 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, or 1.7%, based on the company’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year. It also reported that his name still appeared in the company’s shareholder register maintained by the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Azam is alleged to have breached a 2024 government circular limiting civil servants’ shareholdings in Malaysian-incorporated companies to no more than 5% of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.
The MACC chief said he had already declared the transaction and the shares had been disposed of last year. His lawyers have sent a letter of demand to Bloomberg over its report.
Bukit Aman’s classified crime investigation unit has begun a criminal defamation investigation into the Bloomberg report and a special task force has been set up to probe the shareholding allegations.