Protesters to rally for Azam Baki’s arrest on Saturday

Kuala Lumpur, January 18 — A group calling itself the Arrest Azam Baki Action Committee, made up of civil society organizations and political party youth wings, has urged Malaysians to take to the streets to protest the conduct of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki.

In a statement calling for his arrest, the group announced that the rally will take place this Saturday ( January 22), in front of the Sogo shopping complex starting at 11 am.

The committee is specifically urging the authorities to immediately arrest MACC chief Tan Sri Azam Baki, initiate legal proceedings against him, and to reshuffle the anti-graft body, and place it under the purview of Parliament.

“The rakyat has been left without a satisfactory explanation from the government and authorities. In fact, the parliamentary select committee that was supposed to meet tomorrow to probe Azam has also been suspended.”

“How else can the rakyat demand an explanation and ensure those who are entrusted with power can perform their duties independently and fairly?”

The committee said those who are not able to attend physically can opt to fly a black flag and use the hashtag #TangkapAzamBaki and #RombakSPRM on all social media posts.

The group announced the setting up of its official Twitter account @TangkapAzamBaki to disseminate the latest information.

The statement issued by the committee is supported by 17 civil society groups, including Bersih 2.0, Sekretariat Solidariti Rakyat, Suara Rakyat Malaysia, and National Patriot Association.

Among the political parties backing the rally are Muda, as well as the youth wings of Pakatan Harapan component parties and Pejuang.

Speculations of the proposed street rally initially surfaced last Thursday, with a poster detailing the date and venue of the demonstrations being circulated by several youth activists on social media.

Dang Wangi police chief Noor Dellhan Yahaya had said yesterday that the police have yet to receive any application to hold a rally in Dataran Merdeka, and warned that the protest would be in violation of the current Covid-19 standard operating procedures.

This comes in light of revelations that Azam had purchased millions of shares in 2015, going against the country’s law that bars civil servants from owning shares amounting to more than RM100,000.

Azam has maintained his innocence, saying the shares were actually purchased by his brother Nasir Baki under his name. He also said the shares had been transferred back to his brother the same year.

The parliamentary Agencies Select Committee under the Prime Minister’s Department, which was supposed to meet and question Azam tomorrow, has been postponed indefinitely, with the latter said to be refusing to cooperate.

The Arrest Azam Baki Action Committee said the fact the MACC chief has refused to cooperate and chose instead to sue a reporter for RM10 million for defamation has only given rise to more questions than answers.

NMT