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Will MACC chief Azam Baki be probed following the Bloomberg report?
Update2
Azam Baki says RM800,000 shareholding in Velocity Capital was declared and transparent [WATCH]
February 10, 2026 @ 3:25pm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AK0MsN0Mm4&t=11s
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has clarified that his previous shareholding in a financial services company was conducted transparently and above board.
Azam told the New Straits Times that he had nothing to hide regarding the RM800,000 worth of shares, noting that the transaction had been properly declared.
"I made the declaration on this, including sources of my income through the Human Resource Management Information System (HRMIS) to the Public Service Department. All transparent," he said.
Azam explained that the shares were purchased last year and disposed of within the year.
He described the reports questioning the transaction as malicious and misleading, adding that he is considering legal action due to their defamatory nature.
Earlier today, a news portal reported that Azam was listed as holding 17.7 million shares in Velocity Capital Bhd, citing a corporate filing with the Companies Commission of Malaysia (SSM).
The article reported that the shareholding was disclosed in Velocity Capital Bhd's annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year.
Based on the company's share price at Monday's close, the stake would be worth about RM800,000.
Checks on the company web portal revealed that the company is Bursa Malaysia-listed and was previously involved in transportation, logistics and ceramics manufacturing.
It is now moving towards financial services, including moneylending.
In a statement issued today, MACC said it viewed the report with seriousness, describing it as containing misleading statements and unfounded allegations.
The commission said the report not only affected the reputation of its chief commissioner but also unjustifiably associated MACC with allegations of wrongdoing, potentially undermining public confidence in the agency.
MACC stressed that asset declarations by public officers are governed by established administrative and governance procedures under the public service framework and must be made through official channels to the relevant authorities.
It said Azam had fully complied with all applicable asset declaration requirements, including declarations made via HRMIS to the Public Service Department, covering sources of income as well as the acquisition and disposal of assets, including shares.
"Any portrayal suggesting a failure to declare assets is factually incorrect and creates a misleading impression of the integrity and governance framework governing MACC and the public service," the statement said.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief commissioner Tan Sri Azam Baki has clarified that his previous shareholding in a financial services company was conducted transparently and above board. - NSTP/MOHD FADLI HAMZAH
Update1
Govt and Azam must answer, Puad says on shareholding report
Umno leader says the government and MACC chief commissioner must not sweep the Bloomberg report under the carpet.
Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi asked if the MACC chief’s reported shareholding is allowed under the regulations for civil servants.
PETALING JAYA: An Umno leader has urged the government and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki to respond to a report that the latter holds 17.7 million shares in a financial services company.
Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi said Putrajaya and the MACC chief commissioner must respond to the report by Bloomberg without delay.
“Is this true? Is this allowed under the regulations for civil servants? This is not the first time that Azam has been implicated in a shareholding controversy.
“I hope this is brought up in Parliament. This is an issue of public interest, they must not sweep this under the carpet,” he said in a statement.
Bloomberg reported that Azam’s shareholding was disclosed in Velocity Capital Bhd’s annual return lodged on Feb 3 last year, and that his name still appeared on the company’s register of shareholders at the Companies Commission of Malaysia.
Based on the company’s share price at Monday’s close, the stake would be worth about RM800,000.
A 2024 government circular on the conduct of public officials states that civil servants may hold shares in Malaysian-incorporated companies only if the holdings do not exceed 5% of paid-up capital or RM100,000 in value, whichever is lower.
Public officers are also required to declare their assets on a periodic basis.
In late 2021, Azam was the subject of controversy after allegations of his extensive ownership of corporate stock surfaced, leading to calls for his resignation.
At the time, MACC said the trades were carried out by his brother using his trading account. The Securities Commission later said it found no conclusive evidence that securities laws had been breached.
MACC’s Anti-Corruption Advisory Board also cleared Azam of wrongdoing, although not before economist Edmund Terence Gomez resigned from the panel in protest of its alleged failure to discuss reports implicating top officials.
Meanwhile, PKR’s Pasir Gudang MP Hassan Karim said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should order Azam to go on leave, or terminate the MACC chief’s contract in light of the shareholding report.
“There is no other option if Anwar is sincere about combating corruption and the abuse of power to its core,” Hassan said, according to Malaysiakini.
Anwar has extended Azam’s contract three times beyond the mandatory retirement age for civil servants. His current contract is set to expire in May, barring further extensions.
KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 10, 2026: Bloomberg has posted a damning news report claiming that Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief Azam Baki has not declared RM800,000 worth of shares as required by law.
So, who or which agency/department will investigate Azam and unravel the truth or untruth?
No News Is Bad News reproduces below the damning news report that was re-posted by Malaysia Now and Free Malaysia Today:
Apex court restores Isa’s 6-year jail term, RM15mil fine
Reading out the apex court’s unanimous verdict today, Nordin said the findings of trial judge Nazlan Ghazali, now a Federal Court judge, were supported by evidence and in accordance with the law.
“The respondent (Isa) failed to rebut the presumption under Section 50(1) of the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) Act,” said Nordin, who took about an hour and 45 minutes to read the judgment.
He said the prosecution had proven all ingredients contained in Section 16(a)(A) of the MACC Act beyond reasonable doubt.
Describing corruption as a heinous act that would destroy a nation, Nordin said the sentence meted out by the High Court was appropriate and in accordance with established principles.
The judge said it was sufficient under the law for the prosecution to show that Isa had received the gratification.
He said the prosecution had shown that the money was a reward for Isa’s assistance in securing approval from the board of directors of Felda Investment Corp Sdn Bhd (FICSB) for the purchase of the Merdeka Palace Hotel & Suites.
The judge said Zahid Arip, Isa’s special officer at the time, and Sarawak businessman Ikhwan Zaidel were credible prosecution witnesses, and that their testimonies remained unshaken, even after cross-examination.
He said the trial judge had the advantage of hearing the witnesses’ testimony, enabling a direct assessment of their demeanour to determine credibility.
Further, he said the money trail and evidence given by Ikhwan, which corroborated Zahid’s testimony, pointed irresistibly to Isa being guilty of the crime.
Nordin said the evidence showed that Zahid had collected money from Ikhwan, which he delivered to Isa’s office in paper bags on nine occasions between July 2014 and December 2015.
Evidence that Zahid had left the money on a table at Isa’s office was strong circumstantial evidence to prove that Isa had received it, the judge said.
On Isa’s request that Zahid “kirim salam” (send his regards) to Ikhwan, Nordin said:
“Conveying salam through an intermediary is customary practice among Muslims, and yet in the context of the present case, it expresses a different connotation.”
The judge said it was illogical for the defence to state that Zahid had solicited and demanded such a substantial amount of money from Ikhwan for himself.
“In the present case, it is the respondent who demanded the money,” he said.
Nordin also described as “improbable” any suggestion that Zahid would swindle such a large amount of money from Ikhwan. “Surely Ikhwan would discover it,” he said.
The judge also dismissed Zahid’s inability to be precise as to the number of times Zahid sent his salam to Ikhwan, calling it a minor discrepancy that did not lead to the collapse of the prosecution’s case.
“After all, Zahid gave evidence about five years after the incidents took place,” he added.
Nordin said the Court of Appeal also erred in holding that the prosecution had presented two different narratives of the case.
He rejected the defence’s contention that the prosecution had altered its narrative midway through the trial to suggest that the money was an “inducement” for Isa not to interfere with the hotel purchase.
He said the prosecution’s case was always that the gratification was a reward for Isa.
Deputy public prosecutors Afzainizam Abdul Aziz and Arif Aizuddin Masrom appeared for the prosecution while M Athimulan represented Isa.
Isa’s next recourse would be to seek a pardon from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, as the offence was committed in Kuala Lumpur.
News
MACC's Azam back in the spotlight over millions of undeclared shares in listed company
Bloomberg reports that Azam Baki has not declared shares that could be worth RM800,000 in a possible breach of a government circular.
February 10, 2026 9:55 AM2 minute read
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission chief commissioner Azam Baki.
Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief Azam Baki owns shares worth hundreds of thousands of ringgit in a Bursa Malaysia-listed company, breaching a government circular that bars public servants from purchasing shares exceeding RM100,000 in value, Bloomberg reports in a disclosure reminiscent of a similar revelation that sparked protests for him to step down four years ago.
The report cites corporate filings showing Azam, whose tenure as the top anti-graft officer was extended three times by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, held 17.7 million shares of Velocity Capital Partner Bhd as of Feb 3 last year, with a current value of almost RM800,000.
Besides breaching the maximum shareholding amount allowed for a public servant by a 2024 government circular, Azam has also possibly run foul of a requirement to declare assets at least once every five years, the same offence for which he has opened investigations against others.
According to Bloomberg, he has not publicly declared the assets. The report added that Azam's office has not responded to a request for comment.
The revelation comes as Azam appears to be stepping up publicity over a series of investigations by MACC, and has vowed to pursue wealthy and influential individuals despite facing calls to step down.
"There are also people who tell me to step down, but the question is — do we ourselves want to give up? I have never given up," he said in an interview last month.
Azam has earned praise from Anwar, who described him as "courageous" in the so-called war against corruption.
The 62-year-old has been the most controversial MACC chief to date, and has been accused of targeting Anwar's political enemies while sparing those close to the current government.
In 2022, Azam was embroiled in a controversy over his ownership of shares in publicly listed companies, which he said were purchased by his brother using his trading account.
Two years later, he was at the centre of a Bloomberg report in September 2024 that, among other things, quoted sources as saying that Anwar had instructed Azam not to investigate Farhash Wafa Salvador, the former PKR leader turned multi-millionaire, over the purchase of shares in a company linked to the development of a new billion-ringgit immigration system.
The report quoted the same source as saying that Azam was instructed to pursue Anwar's enemies, namely Dr Mahathir Mohamad and the late Daim Zainuddin.
A subsequent police report filed by Daim's widow, Na'imah Khalid, to investigate Anwar for abuse of power, was declared "no further action".
Last year, Azam sparked outrage after his sudden announcement that Farhash had been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with approval to explore minerals in a massive forest reserve in Sabah.
He was also criticised for using the word "tohmahan", a Malay term denoting a baseless allegation, when referring to allegations involving Farhash.
