Lim said Abu Zahar Ujang “has got the wrong end of the stick” and that the issue was not academician Edmund Terence Gomez but Azam.

Gomez had resigned as a member of the MACC’s Consultation and Corruption Prevention Panel on Dec 27, saying it failed to discuss reports implicating the top leaders at the anti-graft agency.

However, panel chairman Borhan Dolah responded by saying that Gomez did not name Azam in his emails, and Zahar was quoted in a Utusan Malaysia report as saying the advisory board had not received any letter from Gomez in regards to the allegations against Azam.

Zahar was also reported to have said that Gomez could have brought his complaint to him or filed a police report so appropriate action could be taken.

In a statement today, Lim said serious allegations had been made against Azam for more than two months “affecting his role and work as MACC chief commissioner (and) casting doubt on the anti-corruption efforts of the MACC”.

He said neither Azam nor Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob had responded to the allegations.

The Iskandar Puteri MP also questioned whether the various MACC oversight committees had taken any action over the claims, and asked if “unseen forces” were at work to “cover up” the issue.