The call for a probe was made by lawyers Rafique Rashid Ali and M Manoharan as well as Subang MP Wong Chen and Klang MP Charles Santiago.

Azam, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) chief, said at a press conference yesterday that he had willingly given his brother permission to buy shares using his account and that he had explained the matter to the Anti-Corruption Advisory Board.

Speaking to FMT, Rafique referred to Section 25 (4) of the Securities Industry Central Depositories Act (Sicda), which states that securities accounts must be in the name of the benefiting owner.

“Azam’s press conference must now be subjected to investigation by the Securities Commission,” he said.

Manoharan said one could not lend one’s name to another to trade in shares.

“This could mean misleading the SC and there could be an element of an offence,” he told FMT.

Wong said Azam should have known better than to allow anyone to borrow his share trading account.

“It is now absolutely important to publish his asset declaration document to the then prime minister to see if he had declared these shares,” he said. “If he did not disclose, then he should be probed further.”

He also said an internal probe by the MACC on the matter as announced yesterday would not satisfy the public as “there is an obvious conflict-of-interest issue”.

He urged the MACC to present a written report of its findings to Parliament to allow a bipartisan committee of MPs to examine it.

Santiago said the SC should ascertain whether Azam had breached Sicda.

“It is also crucial to know if Azam had declared assets in 2015 when his brother had first bought the shares,” he said.

He urged the prime minister to “get to the bottom of the case” to save the MACC’s reputation.

Santiago also called for the appointment of a new MACC chief .

“We must think of the impact on foreign investors who are planning to invest here,” he said. “They will look at the credibility of our anti-graft agencies.”